


Glory Days

by Cowboy_Sneep_Dip



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baseball, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, Angst, Baseball, Boy I hope no one notices there isn't technically enough characters for a full baseball team, Domestic Fluff, Drama, Drinking, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Family, I promise it's mostly lighthearted fun, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Slow Burn, Sports, Yes the title is the Bruce Springsteen song, i say right before tagging
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2018-10-12 16:43:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10495173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cowboy_Sneep_Dip/pseuds/Cowboy_Sneep_Dip
Summary: I had a friend who was a big baseball player...Hinoka, the star pitcher for the Hoshido Pegasi, finds herself challenged and oddly infatuated when the rival team, the Nohr Knights, gets a mysterious new player. She soon finds herself blurring the lines between rivals, friends, and lovers. This casts the Fates gang as the players and families of two teams that compete for the top spot of the baseball championships!





	1. Chapter 1

Hinoka gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on her weapon. She closed her eyes briefly, slowing her breathing. She felt out her surroundings. The feel of the dust and wind, the cool evening air, the feel of her fingers on the cloth-wrapped wooden handle. She opened her eyes again, setting her feet wide and readying herself for the incoming blow.

She swung – with a loud _CRACK!_ the blow connected.  Her wild red hair, slick with sweat, flopped into her eyes. Half-blind and frantic, she burst forward on powerful legs, her muscles twisting and propelling her forward. She felt blood rush to her head as she ran. She inhaled thick clouds of brown powder kicked up by her pumping legs. _Come on!_

She skidded to a halt, steadying herself as her feet tried to pass her over first base. She stopped, catching her breath. _Safe._

She bent over, hands on her knees, catching her breath, before standing up and surveying her surroundings.

The sun hung low in the sky, an orange glow cast over the playing field, filtered through the first purple clouds of dusk. It was a small field, tucked away in the corner of a park on the outskirts of the city. From where Hinoka stood, she could see the silhouette of skyscrapers reaching up past the trees, their dark forms outlined by the setting sun. The baseball field was fairly plain, the diamond of brown dirt encircled by a chainlink fence and a few scattered metal bleachers. 

She looked across, past the pitcher’s mound, spying Kagero on third base. Hinoka smiled and tilted her head in a slight nod. Her hit had almost advanced the dark-haired woman home. Light on her feet and agile as hell, Kagero was more likely to steal bases than anything else, but with two outs already it was best to not take any chances.

Now Hinoka’s attention turned. The pitcher was winding up for another throw.

_Come on, Rinkah. Come on._

Rinkah was a heavy hitter, but she was slow and inaccurate. Hinoka winced as she heard the whiff of the bat slicing through the air.

“Strike one!”

Chatter came from the stands along the base lines. Cheers on one side, jeers on the other.

“Strike two!”

Biting her lip, Hinoka scanned the stands. It was a close game, but it was early in the season so a loss wouldn’t be too hard to handle now. Hopefully. Hinoka spied her sister sitting quietly on the metal bleachers, a worried expression on her face. She knew Sakura would never cheer out loud, but her presence in the stands was enough encouragement for Hinoka.

She was knocked out of her thoughts by a loud _CRACK!_

 _Rinkah!_ Hinoka ducked her head down and took off, sprinting towards second. From the corner of her eye, she watched as Kagero scored a run. Hinoka rounded second and turned her gaze to the outfield. Rinkah’s hit cleared the center fielder and rolled to a stop in the grass at the foot of the outfield’s chain link fence. Confidence renewed, Hinoka sprinted, her short hair flapping wildly in the breeze. She approached third base.

“Go, go!” she heard shouts from the dugout on her side. Well, dugout maybe wasn’t accurate. The metal bench along the third base line housed a number of Hoshidan players, at this point in the evening dirty, sweaty, and exhausted.

Hinoka rounded third. Behind her, the centerfielder threw the ball back into the infield, barely arriving at second base behind Rinkah.

The catcher behind home plate held out her arm, ready to catch the ball.

 _Slide, slide!_ Hinoka shouted at herself. She dove.

A second too late. Her face connected with the catcher’s outstretched arm and she felt a painful _crunch_. The air was knocked from her lungs and she collapsed backwards into the dirt, her red baseball cap flung off her.

For a moment, she lay in the dirt, dazed. She stared up at the clouds. The sun had set quickly, and now even the streaks of red were beginning to fade into the summer night sky. Distantly, she heard a shout.

“You’re out!”

She coughed and felt a wetness on her upper lip. With a herculean effort, she lifted her arm up to her face, dabbing her lip, then held her hand in front of her eyes.

_Blood._

She flopped her arm back onto the dirt, her hand revealing a catcher’s mask hovering above her. The catcher pulled her mask back, revealing an angular face with short black hair.

“Hey, you okay?”

Hinoka took a deep breath. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Shit, sorry about that,” the girl said, leaning over Hinoka’s face. “Hold on, I think I have some tissues.”

The catcher disappeared from view. Hinoka could vaguely hear a loud, gruff voice shouting the final score. She sighed and laid her head back into the dirt.

 

-

 

Hinoka sat at alone at the kitchen table, holding a plastic bag filled with ice cubes against her face. Her nose had stopped bleeding on the trip home, but now a dark purple bruise was spreading across her upper cheek. As she pressed the cold pack against her face she winced, letting out a quiet hiss.

She laid her head down on the table and exhaled. The room was cramped, the small space serving as both kitchen and dining room for the small family that lived there. It was the bottom floor of a narrow rowhouse in the city, a nice enough place for the four of them. _Wish the damn air conditioning would work, though,_ Hinoka reflected, beginning to doze off.

She opened her eyes as the front door banged open, and a tall, solid man with long brown hair walked in.

“Hey, Ryoma” she said without getting up.

“You look terrible,” the man said, loosening his tie and taking his shoes off at the door. “You guys lose?”

“Mmhm,” Hinoka grumbled. “Got clotheslined by the catcher trying to slide into home.”

Her older brother stopped next to the table and bent down, taking a closer look at her face. “That’ll be a nasty bruise tomorrow.” He took off his suit jacket and draped it over a chair. “Sorry I couldn’t make it.”

“No problem,” Hinoka said, sitting up. “There’s leftovers in the fridge if you want any.”

Ryoma shook his head and opened the refrigerator, pausing for a second to glance at the door. The once white fridge front was now covered with a patchwork of papers, schedules, drawings, and magnets. He took a bottle out of the fridge and sat down at the table next to Hinoka.

“Takumi and Sakura in bed already?” he said, opening the bottle with a hiss. He took a sip and offered the bottle to Hinoka.

“Yeah,” she accepted. “Sakura is, at least. I think Takumi might be working on homework.” She passed the bottle back to Ryoma. “How’d you date with…uh, what’s his name? The blonde guy, right?”

 “Xander?” Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, how’d that go?”

“Fine enough,” Ryoma said. “He seemed a bit stiff, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.”

“Going to go on a second date, you think?” Hinoka pulled the makeshift ice pack off her face and wiped the condensation from her cheek.

Ryoma took a drink and nodded. “I think so.”

“I’m happy for you,” Hinoka said, somewhat disingenuously.

Ryoma patter her shoulder. “What about you? When’s the last time you were on a date?”

“Ugh,” Hinoka put her face in her hands. “Don’t want to talk about it.”

“Come on,” Ryoma prodded. “You’re so focused on training and practicing, you never really take time for yourself.”

“I know, I know…”

“I know how much of a perfectionist you can be, but if you push yourself too hard, accidents like that,” he gestured at her face, “can happen.”

 She sighed.

“How about I set you up with someone? A friend of mine from work.”

“No,” Hinoka said flatly. “Not happening.”

“What about your friends, then? You and Setsuna are pretty close, right?”

Hinoka laughed and leaned back in her chair. “No inter-team dating rules out pretty much most of the people I know. Besides, I don’t know if I trust our health insurance enough to go on a date with her.”

Ryoma chuckled. “Fair enough. All I’m saying is you need to take some time for yourself, okay? Do something fun. A night out on the town can do wonders for your mood.”

Hinoka smiled. “Wow, your date _must_ have gone great if you’re being this pushy.” She stood up and pushed her chair in.

She stopped at the foot of the stairs, turning and facing back into the kitchen. “I’ll think about it, alright?”

Ryoma nodded.

 

-

 

Hinoka woke up to the sound of her phone rattling on her bedside table. She rolled onto her side, swiping wildly in the direction she suspected the phone was. After nearly knocking her alarm clock to the ground, she grabbed the sleek red flip phone. She held it close to her face. _Who could be calling so early in the morning?_

She flipped it open.

“Ugh, hello?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She pressed her finger into her cheek accidentally, sending a flare of pain through her face. “Dammit!” she dropped the phone and scrambled to pick it up. The voice on the other end was speaking frantically.

“Woah, woah, hold on!” Hinoka interrupted. “Sorry, run that by me again? I dropped my phone.”

The voice continued, slower. Hinoka nodded.

“Okay, I’ll be over.”

She sped through a hurried version of her morning ritual – brush teeth, wash face, take medicine, get changed. She threw on a white t-shirt and a pair of short denim shorts before ducking out of her room and skipping down the stairs two at a time.  She skidded to a halt at the front door and bent over to pull on a pair of high-top Chucks.

“Woah, where are you off to?” Ryoma looked up from the kitchen table, peeking over the top of a newspaper. Takumi and Sakura sat on either side of him, eating breakfast.

“Uh, Oboro called. She said it’s important.”

“Don’t you want any breakfast?” Sakura asked quietly. 

“Uhh…” Hinoka bounced on her feet. “Okay, yeah, I’ll grab something.” She leaned over Sakura and kissed the top of her head as she headed for the cupboard.

“Have a great day at school, you two,” she said, triumphantly withdrawing a granola bar and unwrapping it. “Takumi, good luck on your science test; and Sakura, Ryoma and I will be there for the teacher conference this evening, right?” She turned to Ryoma.

He nodded. “I’m getting off work early just to make sure we can make it.”

Hinoka took a water bottle out of the fridge and threw it into a small messenger bag, along with the granola bar and a set of keys.

“Bye, guys! See you all later!” she headed out the door in a hurry, emerging into the hazy heat of the morning.

She unlocked her bike, which had been secured to the railing of the steps leading to their apartment, and climbed onto the seat.

As she pedaled along the narrow city sidewalks, she took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. Waking up early was fine, but she hated being rushed in the morning. Getting frantic calls was a sure way to mean her entire morning would be stressful and panicky.

Fortunately, there was little that she enjoyed more than biking through the city. She weaved past a few scattered pedestrians before popping the bike off the curb and into a bike lane. It was a hot morning, but biking got a cool breeze to blow on her face, soothing her still-aching cheek. She pulled up to a stop at a red light, dropping a leg down to the pavement and taking a minute to collect herself. She pulled out her granola bar and began to munch on it softly. Fortunately, Oboro didn’t live too far away – less than five miles, which Hinoka considered to be firmly in bikeable range for visiting. They only had one car, which Ryoma used for work, so Hinoka knew the bike paths around the city better than just about anything else. Between her love of biking and baseball, Hinoka reflected, she probably spent most of the day exercising.

 _I really should start eating more_ , she reflected as the light turned green. She stuffed the remainder of the granola bar into her mouth and took off.

Hinoka arrived at Oboro’s apartment and hopped off the bike, skipping up the stairs and ringing the doorbell.

The door opened, and Oboro’s face stuck out. “Oh, good. Get in here.” She unhooked the lock and swung the door open wide.

The stylish and modernly decorated apartment was now home to a few people huddled on a couch around a TV, their backs to the door. The TV was showing a recording of a baseball game, it looked like. Oboro led Hinoka into the room.

“Okay, what’s this all about?” Hinoka asked, sitting on the couch next to Kagero, who had a serious look on her face.

Across the room, a teal-haired man with small, round glasses leaned against a wall. He crossed his arms.

“Oh, Coach Yukimura,” Hinoka said, puzzled. “What’s happening?”

“Bad news,” he said, frowning. “The Knights have a new player.”

“Huh? So?” Hinoka looked around at the assembled girls.

“Not just any new player,” Rinkah said dejectedly. “Watch this.” She picked up the television remote and unpaused the TV.

It was, as Hinoka suspected, a baseball game. College baseball, by the looks of it.

On the screen, a large, muscular woman was up to bat. She shook her head, curls of long, lavender hair poking out from under her black cap. She stood with her legs apart, bracing herself. Then came the pitch.

The woman crushed the ball. The impact of her hit shattered the wooden bat, sending fragments and splinters of wood out in a shower around home plate. The broken bat half was sent flying, and the woman stood with the shattered handle in her hands.

The ball soared out over the outfield, easily clearing the green wooden wall at the far back. Homerun. The batter smiled and flipped a lock of hair out of her eyes. Rinkah paused the TV.

“Holy cow,” Hinoka whispered.

“That’s not a fluke, by the way. That girl has broken more bats than anyone I can think of. She carried her school to the championships every year she played.” Yukimura said, stepping towards the TV. “And she’s now standing in the way between us and the local championships.”

Hinoka widened her eyes. “What the hell is someone like that doing playing in our league? She could be in the majors!”

Oboro nodded. “This video is from her time playing in college. When she graduated, there was plenty of speculation about who was going to recruit her. In the end, no one did.”

“What do you mean?”

 “No one really knows. Everyone says there was some sort of family drama. A death, maybe. But she dropped out of baseball and just disappeared.”

“I got a call from a friend of mine who was watching a game last night, when you were playing,” Yukimura explained. “He told me that she was the Knights’ new catcher.”

Oboro gritted her teeth. “Leave it to a team like the Nohr Knights to recruit a goddamn professional-level player. Bastards.”

Hinoka stared at the TV, eyes fixed on the face frozen behind the crackling static. The soft face draped in wavy purple hair. Her muscles taut, her hands wrapped tightly around the bat. Hinoka imagined what kind of body a woman who can hit like that must have. She shuddered. At the same time, though, she could feel her heart beating faster. A welling feeling in her chest.

“What’s her name?”


	2. Chapter 2

Hinoka lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning in lazy circles in the dark above her. Her tanktop and underwear were drenched in sweat and the fan was doing little to cool her down. Through her open window, she could hear the sounds of the city – sirens in the distance, cars honking, the distant chatter of late-night pedestrians.

It was the third day of the heat wave in the city, and she was beginning to feel it. Even biking was nearly unbearable in this heat. She rolled over and checked her phone. She rolled again, restless, kicking her sheets to the bottom of the bed.

She tried laying on her back again, closing her eyes and listening to the dull _whump-whump-whump_ of the fan as it sliced through the thick air. She exhaled slowly. She could feel drowsiness finally coming on.

A gentle knock woke her up, inches from the door of sleep. _Dammit._

She swung her legs out of bed and sat with her elbows on her knees for a minute. The soft knock came again.

“Hinoka?” the voice was barely more than a whisper.

“Just a sec,” Hinoka stood up and crossed the piles of dirty laundry and scattered books between her and her door.

“Sakura?” she asked, surprised. Sakura stood in the hallway, her small frame illuminated by the soft glow of a nightlight. Sakura had her arms wrapped around a stuffed animal.

“Um…” Sakura said, looking at the floor, pointedly avoiding Hinoka’s gaze.

“You okay?”

“I c-couldn’t sleep…”

Hinoka smiled. “Want to come in?”

They sat together on Hinoka’s bed. “I can’t sleep either. This heat sure is something, isn’t it?” Hinoka tried.

Sakura shook her head.

“Not the heat?”

She shook her head again.

“What’s up, then?”

“I h-had a nightmare again,” Sakura said quietly, frowning.

“Oh…” Hinoka said, wrapping an arm around her sister. “Hold on a second, I’ll get you some water, okay?”

As she walked down the hall to the bathroom, Hinoka sighed. Sakura had always been a shy child, and always very sensitive. _Ever since mom died, though…_

“You wanna talk about it?” Hinoka asked, sitting back down next to her. She passed the glass of water to Sakura, who nervously took a drink.

“N-not really…”

“Hey, that’s okay,” Hinoka said. “You wanna sleep here tonight?”

Sakura nodded.

“Okay,” Hinoka smiled. She hugged Sakura tightly. “I’ll always be here for you, I promise,” she whispered.

 

-

The four of them sat around the table, eating an early dinner before Hinoka’s game.

“This’ll be your first game against them, right?” Ryoma asked.

Hinoka nodded. “Yeah, and we’re going to get crushed.”

“You told me about their new player. Is she really that good?”

“They’re undefeated so far. It might not just be her, but their team is pretty much unstoppable.”

“You can do it!” Sakura said brightly. “We’ll be cheering for you!”

Hinoka smiled. “Thanks.” She turned to Ryoma. “You sure you don’t mind missing another date to come to the game? I promise it’s no big deal if you don’t want to come.”

Ryoma shook his head. “Strangely enough, he also said he had somewhere to be. We both just figured it’d work best to reschedule it.”

“Still, it’s your one month anniversary…” Hinoka teased.

“No one celebrates one month of dating,” Takumi said.

“What about you and that boy you’re always hanging around?” Sakura asked.

Takumi shot her an angry glare. “We’re not dating, gods! I hate him and his stupid face and those dumb dorks he hangs out with all the time.”

Sakura giggled. “You sure seem to spend a lot of time with him…”

“I told you, he’s in my lab group! And he _is_ good at science,” Takumi admitted. “But he’s a jerk.”

“All I know is that Hana said you two were eating lunch together yesterday and-“

“Shut up!” Takumi glared at her.

Hinoka and Ryoma laughed.

“Anyway, we should probably get going,” Ryoma said, sitting up. “I’ll do the dishes and you all should go get ready to head out.”

And so Hinoka found herself sitting alongside her teammates on a hot metal bench in the hazy late afternoon, watching as the first player went up to bat.

“Come on, Scarlet!” she shouted in encouragement. “You can do it!”

Scarlet, her short blonde hair poking out from under her red cap, stepped up to the plate. She wore a blue bandanna around her head under her hat – technically not part of the uniform, but small enough that no one really cared. She knocked the dust from her cleats with the end of her bat as she waited for the pitcher to get ready.

Hinoka took a drink from her water bottle and tried to get a closer look at the catcher.

_Camilla_ , she thought. She could barely see the face behind the black cage mask, only two dark eyes. The catcher’s form was impressive, but what kept drawing Hinoka’s gaze was her body. Even in the less-than-flattering baseball uniform, Hinoka could catch hints of solid muscle and smooth curves. She wiped sweat from her brow. _Damn heat wave_.

The first inning went well enough – only two runs scored, but it gave Hinoka a chance to see how well the Knights’ new lineup played.

Players of note included the pitcher, Flora, who thew a wicked fastball, and Beruka, a reserved shortstop who seemed to stop anything sent her way.

Hinoka stepped up to the pitcher’s plate, lightly fingering the threads of the baseball. The first batter was a grumpy-looking girl with long red twintails. Before reaching homeplate, she turned and snapped at the coach, a grey-haired but solid man. _I think Yukimura said his name is Gunter?_ Hinoka guessed.

She signaled to Rinkah, the catcher.

Even after watching old footage of Camilla’s college games and sitting in the stands for previous Knights games, they couldn’t come up with a strategy to get around the lavender-haired monster. Their only real plan was to do well enough defensive playing that they could deal with any runs she scored. Avoid keeping the bases full before she steps up to bat, and hope she doesn’t do too much damage.

Hinoka struck the first batter out. She stormed off the field, stamping her feet. _Jeez, she seems a bit high-strung_.

The remainder of the inning was fine. A blonde batter, the name _Charlotte_ emblazoned on the back of her shirt, hit a pop fly that was thankfully caught by Setsuna who was miraculously both alert enough to catch it and lucky enough to not trip while running.

They only scored one run during the inning – a wild-looking girl with pink and blue hair hit a line drive that popped up and nearly hit Oboro in the stomach. Camilla didn’t get a chance to bat yet.

_Okay, okay_ , Hinoka took deep breaths as she walked back to the dugout. _Maybe we can do this. Maybe they aren’t as unstoppable as they appear_.

She turned and looked into the stands, looking for her family. She waved at Sakura, who smiled and waved back. Sakura tapped Takumi – who had been paging through a book – and pointed at Hinoka. Takumi begrudgingly gave a half-hearted wave.

_Where’s Ryoma?_ Hinoka scanned the bleachers.

Then she spotted him – he was sitting with a blonde man with an angular chin, sharing a basket of fries.

_What the hell?_

The man said something to Ryoma, who laughed. Her older brother spied Hinoka looking at him and waved. Hinoka frowned and waved back. The man with Ryoma – _that must be Xander, right? Or…?_ The man made eye contact with her and gave a sly smile. Taken aback, Hinoka turned her attention back to the game.

“Hinoka, you’re up!” Yukimura called to her.

Hinoka took a deep breath and stepped up to the plate. Every second felt like an eternity. She could feel the catcher’s eyes boring holes in her back.

_Oh, gods, oh, gods_ …her mind raced a mile a minute. _Stay calm. Come on, Hinoka._ She glanced back briefly, and for a second she locked eyes with the woman.

The eyes were dark violet and they narrowed when she made eye contact. Even despite the heat, she could feel a blush welling up in her. She quickly turned away, readying herself for the game.

_Why doesn’t she say something?!_ Hinoka felt herself physically driving herself crazy. _Just say something! Gods, get it over with!_ _Why is she staring at me like that? Agh!_

She was startled by a ball passing in front of her, straight into Camilla’s mitt. _Oh, right._ She suspected someone on her team was shouting at her but remained lost in her own thoughts.

The next pitch came in – too high. Hinoka stood still and the umpire called a ball. Hinoka nodded and took a deep breath. _Focus_.

She swung at the next pitch, immediately regretting it as she watched the ball curve past her bat. _Crap._

She nervously knocked dirt from her cleats. She took deep breaths, realigned her feet, loosened her knees. She adjusted her grip on the bat. For a minute, a flash of violet eyes crossed into her mind. _No,_ she shut it out. _Keep it focused._

She struck out. In a daze, she stumbled back to the dugout and sat down heavily on the bench.

“Hey, what gives?” Rinkah leaned over and lightly tapped her arm. “What was that?”

Hinoka gulped at her water bottle. “I…I don’t know. Sorry.”

Rinkah gave her a puzzled look. “It’s fine, I guess.”

The game went better than Hinoka had expected. They weren’t crushed, as she predicted, but they were soundly defeated. Defying all expectations, Camilla simply managed to hit three doubles and a triple, no home runs. She wasn’t the fastest girl, but her hits were good enough that it didn’t matter. Hinoka’s performance, on the other hand, was all over the place. She fumbled catches, threw bad pitches, and struck out almost every time she was up to bat.

As Hinoka stepped up to the plate a final time, she sighed. _Maybe Ryoma’s right. Maybe I need to relax or_ _this stress will be the death of me_.

As expected, she struck out one final time. The cheers of the crowd, reveling, in the Knights’ victory, sounded dull and distant to her.

 

-

 

“Where are you going?” Ryoma asked as Hinoka grabbed a set of keys and threw them in her bag.

“I just…I need some time alone, I think,” she said, shaking her head. “I think I’m going to go for a bike ride.”

Ryoma looked surprised. “A bit late for that, isn’t it? Aren’t you tired from playing?”

“I think I need it.”

“Okay…be careful, at least.”

 Ryoma’s words echoed in Hinoka’s head as she pedaled uphill, her muscles burning and her legs protesting at the sheer amount of stress she’d put on them throughout the day. She had stopped at home to change out of her uniform and into something more casual – a light pink tank top and short khaki shorts. She was biking to one of her favorite spots – a grassy overlook from which you could see most of the city. It was a park on the outskirts of the city, secluded enough due to sheer distance from the center of town. The city’s suburbs were on the southside, so the park mainly catered to the residents of the hills and valleys north of the city. And now, late in the evening, with the sun sinking behind the horizon, it was practically empty save a few joggers and dog walkers. Hinoka camped out at one of her favorite spots – a large oak tree from the base of which she could sit and watch the lights of the city turn on at night.

She carelessly let her bike fall as she climbed off it. She leaned heavily against the trunk of the tree, staring at the city.

_Gods, I really screwed up today,_ she frowned. She was never much one to cry, fortunately. Instead, she drew a metal flask out of her bag, unscrewing the lid and taking a gulp. The alcohol burned as it went down, but she found some comfort in it.

Even in the midst of the heat wave, here above the city she could feel the cool breeze and the chill of the night setting in. It beat laying in a hot apartment with insomnia, at any rate. She took another drink.

_What the hell is happening to me?_ She asked herself. _What was that?_

She sighed and rested her head against the tree’s rough bark. _I have to do better than that_.

The park’s lightposts turned on, illuminating the walking path. She watched as couples with pets and joggers slowly dispersed, each heading back to cars or bikes or walking off in the direction of the bus stop.

At some point Hinoka realized that she probably should have gotten something to eat before drinking. She sat up and felt dizzy.

_Ah, screw it_. _I haven’t been drunk in a long time._ She took another swig from her flask, lamenting on how low the level had gotten. _Besides, it’s all that bitch’s fault._

“Oh? And what bitch might that be?” a low, sweet voice startled her, coming from behind.

Hinoka started to get up then froze, recognizing a head of curly lavender hair. _Oh gods, did I say that out loud?!_

“It’s you!” she said, defiantly. Internally, she noted that it probably came out a little more like “Iss you??”

“Yes, it is me,” Camilla said, sitting down next to her.

“Wha…what are you doing here?” Hinoka could feel the strangeness of the situation sobering her up and drawing her out of her stupor.

“Oh, I live around here,” the woman said matter-of-factly. “Just down the road a way, actually. I like to come here to relax after a stressful day.”

“Stressful?” Hinoka scoffed, taking another drink from her flask. “You won! What’s there to be stressed about?”

“Oh, all kinds of things,” Camilla said, suddenly serious. “Besides, you can’t possibly think that baseball is all I have going on in my life.”

“Oh,” Hinoka said, realizing she had been rude. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“I know you didn’t mean it, dear,” Camilla said kindly.

Hinoka offered her the flask. “Not much left, but you’re welcome to it.” Camilla sniffed it before shrugging and finishing the contents of the flask. She passed it back to Hinoka.

“What’s your plan?” asked Camilla.

“Hm?” Hinoka mumbled. “What do you mean?”

“You’re…well, at least _mostly_ drunk, no doubt far from home, and you only have your bike. And it’s almost eleven at night.”

“Well, I was going to sit here till I sobered up – I brought some water, too – and then bike home, probably.” Hinoka grinned sheepishly, realizing that it was a pretty sad-sounding evening.

“Well, I don’t mean to be spoil your fun,” Camilla leaned forward. Hinoka found her gaze wandering across Camilla’s body. A leather jacket and flowy black blouse over black denim shorts. _Lots of black_. She pulled her eyes away from Camilla’s legs and shook her head. Camilla chuckled. “But how about I buy you a drink?”

Hinoka squinted at her. “A drink?”

Camilla nodded. “There’s a bar not far from here. Not the most classy place, but open late and frequented by nice enough people.”

“Are we going to walk?”

Camilla smiled. “I brought _my_ bike. I think the night air might help clear your head a bit.”

 

-

 

Hinoka tightened her grip on Camilla’s stomach, her fingers scrabbling at the metal-studded leather. She had never ridden a motorcycle before, and being tipsy was probably not the best way to experience it. By the time they pulled into the bar parking lot, Hinoka thought she was going to die.

She pulled off the helmet (“Safety first,” Camilla had said) and stumbled loosely off the back seat of the motorcycle.

“Scary?” Camilla grinned, obviously enjoying herself as she shut off the bike’s engine. Hinoka nodded.

“Want to see something fun?” Camilla asked. She pointed. “Look back there.”

Hinoka turned and realized that when Camilla said “not far from here”, she meant “within visual distance of the edge of the park”.  She gave a tipsy giggle.

The inside of the bar was smoky and humid, the summer heat offset by large ceiling fans and copious quantities of drink. It was a quiet place, a jukebox softly playing some Top 40s pop music and a few hushed conversations from groups of patrons. Camilla took off her driving gloves and stuffed them into her jacket pocket before taking it off and hanging it up at the door.

“Miss Camilla! What can I get you?” the bartended called out, clearly acquainted. The bartender looked up from wiping down the counter and slicked back his black and white hair.

“Hello, Keaton,” Camilla said. She and Hinoka sat down at the bar. “Well, my dear?” she asked Hinoka.

_“Dear”?_ Hinoka got the impression that Camilla talked to everyone like this. Right?

“Uh…” caught off guard, she struggled to come up with an answer. “What do you recommend?”

Keaton smiled. “Personally I’m a fan of the Long Island Iced Tea-“

Camilla cut him off. “That’s because it’s just everything mixed together and you have the palate of a dog.”

_Jeez, that was harsh,_ Hinoka noted. But Keaton just laughed. “The usual for you, Miss Camilla?”

Camilla nodded. “Make it two. Doubles.”

“Coming right up,” Keaton said cheerfully.

“So,” Camilla turned to Hinoka. “That wasn’t your best performance today, was it?”

“Oh, gods,” Hinoka buried her face in her hands. “That was awful.”

“I know, because I’ve seen you play before.”

“What?”

“I’ve been to your games. A few times, in fact. You’re very good. Usually.”

Hinoka looked at her. “What do you mean?”

Keaton delivered their drinks. Camilla avoided the question by sampling the drink, then indicating to Keaton to start at tab.

Hinoka sniffed at the drink suspiciously before taking a sip. It was rather fruity and mild, but tasted incredible in the heat of the evening (especially compared to the straight liquor she had before).

“Wow, that’s good! What is this?”

“It’s a specialty cocktail here,” Camilla said, taking another drink. “It’s – “

“Hey, wait!” Hinoka stopped her. “You said you’ve been to our games? What gives?”

Camilla sighed. “Initially, I went to a few with my brother.”

“Your brother?”

“Mmhm,” Camilla said, taking a sip. “I believe you know him, even if you haven’t formally met.”

Hinoka stared into the swirling ice in her drink, struggling to put the pieces together. “…Xander?”

Camilla nodded. “That’s right. In fact, I was the one who set your brother up with him.”

Hinoka was dumbfounded. “W-what? Why?”

“Why? To get to you, of course,” Camilla said slyly.

“G-get to me?” Hinoka reflected on the fact that she definitely drank too much to be having this conversation right now. She stared at Camilla, feeling herself unconsciously eyeing her lips. _Gods, those look soft._

The woman nodded. “I knew if I were to get back into baseball, I would really need to make a splash, so to speak. No one would bat an eye if a washed-up college player returns to the scene and does poorly. If she leads a previously suffering team to victory in the championships, though…now that’d raise some eyebrows.”

“I…I don’t understand,” Hinoka said. “So…you just want to win? What does that have to do with me?” _Oh, gods._ “You aren’t going to get me drunk then kill me, are you?!”

Camilla laughed heartily. “Of course not, dear. Of course not. I simply needed an excuse to get closer to you and your team. And now that my brother and your brother are dating, I have every reason in the world to attend your games, to watch you play…to learn. Don’t think I haven’t seen you at _my_ games, by the way. I’m simply…returning the favor.”

Hinoka frowned. _Damn, this is a good drink,_ she thought, taking another sip. “Yeah, but we were at your games to…” she realized that both of them had the same plan.

“Initially, my plan was just to learn how you played. But as time wore on, I developed a new plan. To trip up the star player.”

“How? Cheating, no doubt.”

“Of course not. Had I known how easy it was to get inside your head, I wouldn’t have had to be nearly as elaborate.”

“Get inside my head? What, you’re going to try a-a-and seduce me? What do you – “ Hinoka got it. “Oh…”

Camilla hummed and took another sip of her drink.

“Why are you telling me this? Now that I know – “

“You’ll what?” Camilla smirked. “I saw what happened tonight. All I had to do was stare at you and you melted like putty in my hands.”

_Gods, she’s right._

“Of course, now that I’ve met you-“ Camilla began to speak before being cut off.

“You conniving bitch,” Hinoka snapped. She pushed her drink away and stood up. “I’m leaving. Screw you and screw your plan.” She stumbled slightly, feeling the room spin.

Camilla stood up and reached out, grabbing Hinoka’s hip. She spun the smaller girl around and pulled her close. She stopped, their faces inches apart.

Hinoka could feel hear breath on her lips. She felt her heart throbbing in her chest, ready to burst. She gulped. Camilla licked her own lips, slowly running her tongue along the top of her mouth then the bottom. Hinoka felt herself leaning forward, opening her mouth, practically touching.

Camilla leaned to the side of Hinoka’s head and stopped her lips a fraction of an inch from Hinoka’s ear.

“ _Beg me for it,_ ” she whispered.

Hinoka felt the room melt away into a pool of inky blackness. She heard a thud that the supposed might be her own head hitting the floor of the bar. In the distance, muffled Top 40s pop music played.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hinoka is far too intense of a character to not just be a total mess waiting to happen. If only there was another character who was a professional Caregiver to Everyone™.  
> Anyway, chapter 2 was a bit longer because I couldn't decide if I wanted it to be shorter chapters or one longer one, and I figured longer is fine. Chapter 3 coming soon!
> 
> For the sake of clarity re: character ages, this is written assuming the older royals are post-college young adults, Corrin and Azura are college-aged, and the younger royals are in high school. Most of the other characters hover around those ages (younger ones being in school still, older ones having jobs and apartments and all that).


	3. Chapter 3

Hinoka woke up slowly, a pounding headache pulsing behind her forehead. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She rolled onto her back and began to massage her temples.

_Gods, what happened last night?_

She leaned over the side of the bed to check her phone – _hold on._

The bed sure was a lot wider than she remembered. Where was that phone? She rubbed her eyes and looked around.

The room was elegantly decorated, the walls lined with heavy wooden bookshelves. On one side, a window blocked by curtains let in a thin silhouette of sunlight. The air felt cool and still. It smelled faintly of cinnamon.

_Where am I?_

She sat up and leaned against the bed’s headboard. It was a magnificent four-poster bed draped with soft silk sheets tinted faintly pink. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, trying to go over the events of the previous evening.

_Think, Hinoka,_ she told herself. _You lost the game, then…biked to the park. And started drinking. Then…_ the memories got fuzzy here. How long had she been out? What time was it now?

She looked around the room again. On a dark wood bedside table rested a silver tray. She rolled over to get a better look. There was a glass of some murky, unidentifiable liquid and a delicately folded paper note. She picked up the paper. In a curly script, someone had written:

_Drink this. Tastes awful, but it’ll make you feel better. I left your clothes on top of the dresser._

_-C_

She picked up the glass and sniffed it nervously. It tasted bitter and gritty. She put it down again. It dawned on her that she was wearing someone else’s shirt – a big baggy t-shirt emblazoned with what looked like a college logo. _Valla University_.

With some trepidation, Hinoka swung her legs out of bed and stood. She was immediately slapped in the face with a wave of nausea. _Oh, gods, I think I’m going to be sick._ She sat back down and clutched her stomach. _How much did I drink?_ She mentally chastised herself for forgetting to eat before drinking.

After a few minutes of rest to ensure she didn’t vomit all over the carpet, she began to slowly make her way to the dresser. True to the note’s word, her clothes – her tank top, bra, shorts, and socks – were in a neatly folded pile. On top rested her cellphone, flipped shut. She picked it up and pressed the power button only to be met with a flashing “No Battery” icon. _Great._

She got dressed and emerged from the room into a wide hallway. From the daylight bouncing around the corners of the hall, she guessed it wasn’t morning. At least, not early morning. All of her days getting up at the crack of dawn to train gave her a good sense of time based on the way the morning light looked. And this…well… _Noon?_ she guessed.

She put a hand on the wall to steady herself. As she walked, she could hear the faint chatter of voices. What sounded like a high-pitched squealing voice bickering back and forth with a lower, flatter one. She followed the sound of the voices.

“Xander, make him stop bullying me!” came the higher voice again.

“I’m not bullying her, I’m just stating facts.”

“You’re a big ‘ol meanie, Leo!”

A lower, more commanding voice this time. “What did you say, Leo?”

“Nothing.”

“He’s making fun of me for not liking crusts on my sandwich!”

Hinoka emerged into a small but finely decorated dining room, at the center of which was a wooden table. Three light-haired individuals sat around the table eating lunch. An angry-looking boy with a black headband scowled at Hinoka as she walked in.

“Ah, and here she is,” the older man, who she immediately recognized from the baseball game the day before. “The woman of the hour. How are you feeling?” Xander asked, turning his attention away from his bickering siblings.

“Uh…” Hinoka suddenly felt very odd. “I’m sorry.”

“I do hope our dear sister didn’t treat you too roughly last night. She has a tendency to do these things, you see.”

 Hinoka blinked at him. In her hangover fog, she struggled to pull together all of the facts that she had been presented with so far. “I’m sorry, um…where am I?” she asked sheepishly.

The younger boy snorted. “I wonder if she’ll let next one she brings home even learn her name first.”

Xander shot him a glare. “Leo, don’t be rude.” The young girl, whose name Hinoka couldn’t remember, kicked her brother’s shins under the table. “Yeah, Leo, don’t be a jerk!”

“And you, Elise. We have a guest. Show some manners, please.”

_Elise. That was her name._

 Xander frowned and turned back to Hinoka. “I’m sorry for that, they can be a bit…unwelcoming” – he glared at his siblings, who both sheepishly looked away – “sometimes. Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea? I’m afraid we just finished eating, but you’re welcome to have some food as well.”

Hinoka felt her stomach rumble uncomfortably. “Uh, no, no thank you. I’m feeling pretty sick.”

“I’m sure you’ll be wanting to speak to Camilla, then. I think she’s in the garden out back.” Xander gestured towards a door.

“Uh, t-thanks.”

As Hinoka walked out the door, she could hear the bickering around the table resume followed by a resigned sigh from Xander. She smiled, thinking about her own family’s tendencies to behave similarly.

The screen door swung shut behind her, rattling in its frame. The humid summer air was a surprise and she realized the house had been air-conditioned. She had emerged from a side door, and she could get a good view of the property from here.

The house was a simple but elegant two-story ranch situated on a small plot of land bordered by broad pine trees. It was fairly isolated, she guessed – she couldn’t see any other houses around. As she walked along the side of the house, she saw that it was on top of a hill. Out back of the house she could see the hills and woods stretching out for miles. It was, frankly, beautiful. _Must be north of the city, then_. The sun was creeping across the sky, currently somewhere around the midpoint.

Hinoka turned around the corner of the house into the backyard. There was a small stone patio to one side, and to the other was an impressively sized garden adorned with all sorts of flowers, hanging plants, and vines. There was a massive variety of plants, though admittedly she knew very little about them. _Lilies? Daffodils? I have no idea. Pretty, though._ Hinoka carefully picked her way along the garden path before spying a figure crouched in the dirt, pulling weeds.

Camilla wore a broad sun hat, light denim shorts and a tank-top that was now visibly damp with sweat. Her boots and work gloves were caked in dirt. She worked carefully but quickly, occasionally deferring to a trowel when she encountered particularly difficult roots.

She stood up, without turning to Hinoka, and wiped sweat from her brow. “I trust you’re feeling well?”

Hinoka moved towards her, eyeing her with suspicion.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in my home,” Camilla said, wiping dirt off her shorts and removing her gloves. She turned to face Hinoka. “Specifically, Krakenburg Lane, just a few miles north of the city.”

“How did I get here?”

“You passed out at the bar last night. My, my. You’re full of questions, aren’t you?” Camilla smiled warmly.

“And my clothes? Did you undress me?” Hinoka asked, indignantly.

“When you collapsed, you stumbled into a passing server and spilled a drink all over yourself. I wasn’t about to put you to bed with wet clothes now, was I?” She began to walk to the edge of the garden and put away her tools. Hinoka turned, her red-hot gaze following the trail of lavender hair.

“And that crap you made me drink?”

“I admit it does taste awful, but it’s an excellent hangover cure. It’s meant to replace lost electrolytes, balance your blood sugar levels, and hydrate you. I wasn’t going to poison you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The way she phrased it made Hinoka feel like she was the bad guy here, somehow.

“I-I-I…what are you doing?” Hinoka snapped. Camilla froze midway through taking a drink from a water bottle.

“Drinking water?” she said innocently.

“You know what I mean! Why am I here?! What do you want from me?!”

Camilla screwed the cap back on her bottle and smiled. “My dear, I honestly have no idea what you could possibly mean. I invited you to have a drink last night, and took care of you when you became ill. I invited you into my home, allowed you to sleep in my bed – while I slept on the couch, mind you – and offered you all the hospitality in the world. And now, you’re accusing me of…” she gestured wildly and shrugged. “Something, clearly. But I don’t even know what. Had I known it was going to be such as hassle, I would have left you alone in that park.”

Hinoka suddenly felt like she had been very rude. “Sorry,” she said softly. “I…I didn’t mean-“

“Of course not, dear. It’s only natural to be suspicious when you wake up in someone else’s house.”

“No, I’m really sorry,” Hinoka said again. “I’ve been incredibly rude. I just…I feel hungover, and my head hurts, and I take medicine for anxiety and if I miss a dose I get really irritable, and-“

Camilla brushed her cheek gently. “Think nothing of it. Come with me, I’ll get you something to drink, and we can talk.”

Hinoka sat on a wooden bench on the patio, staring out at the hills. She frowned. This Camilla seemed nothing like the one she had met last night – not a hint of the sly, conniving seductress to be found here. Just what the hell was going on?

Camilla came back with a tray loaded with two glasses of lemonade and a sandwich. She took one glass and offered the rest to Hinoka.

“Uh…if you don’t mind me asking,” Hinoka began nervously, “what happened yesterday?”

“Hm?” Camilla swirled her drink. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, at the bar, and the game, and…I just remember you saying a bunch of weird things to me. I don’t even know.”

Camilla laughed. “You must have had more to drink than I thought.”

Hinoka frowned. “Okay, fine. Don’t tell me.”

Camilla shrugged. “Admittedly, I also didn’t have the best day yesterday.” She sighed.

“Oh?” Hinoka said through a mouthful of sandwich.

“I’ve had a very stressful couple of days, so I apologize if I did anything to upset you. I haven’t quite been myself.”

“Do you mind me asking?”

 “It’s my younger sister – well, adopted sister, who’s off at university now. She has some sort of illness. No one’s quite sure what, exactly, but she had a seizure the other day. At least, that’s what the doctors said. She had some sort of skin breakout – scales, almost…What am I saying? You don’t want to hear the grisly details. The main thing is that I made the trip up to visit her, and unfortunately…” Hinoka could hear her voice drop. “My father was also there.”

_Father?_ “That’s awful. At least you had a parent to help-“

Camilla shook her head. “No. If I never see that man again as long as I live, I’ll be happy. In the hospital room he was already threatening to withdraw Corrin’s financial support if her grades slip. He didn’t even care that she was sick. Real father or no, how can a man do that to his child?”

Hinoka nodded, unsure what to say. “That’s rough.”

Camilla finished her lemonade. “He’s a right old bastard, that man. Womanizing scum, mean as hell…” she shook her head.

“Well, you seem like you turned out alright. All of you. Good father or not.” Hinoka said, trying to make the conversation a little lighter.

Camilla laughed callously. “Not through any credit of his, though. We’re all only half-siblings. Xander was from father’s first marriage, then the rest of us…” she shrugged.

“Gods,” Hinoka said. _What do you even say to something like that?_

Camilla smiled. “But of course, you don’t want to hear any of that. Family drama and all. Never good for anyone. What about you, though?”

“Uh, yeah,” Hinoka replied. “I, uh, live in the city with my brothers and sister, I guess. Our mom died a few years back, so it’s really up to my older brother and I to take care of the younger two. Not unlike your family, I’d guess.”

Camilla draped her arm across the back of the bench. Not quite around Hinoka’s shoulders, but enough for her to feel unseasonably warm.

“Looks like we have more in common than we initially though, hm?” Camilla moved an inch closer to Hinoka.

“Uh, thanks for the hospitality, but I really have to be going,” Hinoka stuttered, getting up with a start. “My family’s probably crazy worried about me, and-“

“That’s fine!” Camilla said. “I stopped and picked up your bike, so it should be on the front porch.”

Hinoka bowed. “T-thanks again for everything, Camilla.” She began to back up. “Uh, see you around!”

Her last view of Camilla was of the woman smiling, a single eye poking out from beneath her wavy bangs. For a second, Hinoka thought she saw a smirk.

 

-

 

“I’m telling you, it was crazy.” Hinoka sat on a barstool at the counter in a small but neatly organized apartment. Next to her, a sleepy green-haired woman shrugged.

“She seems nice,” the woman intoned. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Setsuna, no offense, but you…aren’t the quickest on the uptake with these sorts of things,” Hinoka said.

Opposite of the two, a brown-haired man with a mirthful face chuckled. “I have to say, Hinoka, I agree. I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill here.”

Hinoka grumbled. “No, Azama, listen to me. Okay, so she was distracting me at the baseball game-“

“Sitting behind homeplate, as catchers usually do,” corrected Azama.

“She tried to seduce me-“

“Bought you a drink and took care of you when you passed out.”

“She set up my brother and her brother to start dating!”

Azama raised his eyebrows. “Now how could that possibly be misconstrued as evil?”

“She literally told me that she was trying to drive me crazy so I wouldn’t play baseball well!”

Azama laughed. “Perhaps you had had too much to drink and misunderstood her meaning!”

“Listen, she said these exact words. She said her plan was ‘to trip up the star player’. Not to, you know, not be humble or anything, but what else could she have meant?! I feel like the world’s going insane and I’m the only one noticing!”

Azama rounded the counter and stood behind Hinoka, rubbing her shoulders. “Look. I think you might be taking all of this the wrong way. The way I see it, you feel a challenge. You were pretty much the top of your league, and now this other woman comes along. She’s the new big thing – talented and pretty to boot. You feel like you’re old hat.”

Hinoka groaned and put her head in her hands. “You really know how to spell things out plainly, don’t you?”

Azama laughed.

His words echoed in Hinoka’s head as she lay in bed, again staring at the ceiling. She had showered before bed, and now her damp hair felt cool and relaxing on her forehead. She spread her arms out, fingertips draped over either side of the narrow twin bed. She sighed.

The clock read 1:03. She turned it away so she couldn’t see the time.

_You feel a challenge. Like you’re old hat._

She pouted. _Old hat my ass_.

Suddenly in the darkness, her phone buzzed, the LED screen casting a pale bluish light into the room.

_What could that be?_   _At this hour?_

She sat up and groped for the phone. _A text?_ She flipped it open. It was from a number she didn’t recognize. It was three words.

_Check your photos_.

_Okay, what the hell?_ Hinoka shook her head. In the quiet darkness of her room, the soft clicks of the phone keyboard sounded almost deafening. Her heart pounded.

She opened her photos folder and scrolled down. _I don’t get it._

Pictures of her family and her teammates. Old pictures of mom. Takumi’s archery tournaments, Sakura and her friends. Azura’s high school graduation and pictures of her at college.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary… _oh._

She reached the bottom of the photos, the recently taken ones. She stared with trembling hands. She could feel her lungs seizing, her heart thrumming against her ribs. Her eyes widened. She dropped the phone to the floor with a clatter.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Hinoka sat on the closed toiled, phone clasped in her hands. She gulped. She had gone back and forth on the photo all night and ended up not sleeping at all. Now, as the small apartment was bustling with activity, she realized she needed to be a functional human being again.

_Do I delete it? Do I keep it?_

She opened the phone again and glanced at the picture, quickly averting her eyes in embarassment.

She snapped the phone shut, face burning. _Oh, gods_. _What the hell is she thinking putting something like this on my phone?_

She swallowed and took a few deep breaths. She looked again. The phone’s screen was faded, the image it was displaying a dimly lit but rather…tantalizing image of the photographer. It was an alarming amount of black lace, and an even more alarming amount of flesh.

Hinoka closed the phone and squeezed her eyes shut. _Why would she take a picture like this on MY phone?_

She tried composing herself.

Someone pounded on the bathroom door. “Come on, Hinoka! You aren’t even using the bathroom! I need to get ready for school!”

Hinoka sighed. She stood up and unlocked the door, brushing past Takumi on her way out. His arms were full of a change of clothes. “Finally!” he sighed, giving her an exasperated look.

Hinoka walked downstairs and slumped over at the kitchen table. She set her phone down in front of her.

“You getting sick or something? You look awful,” Ryoma remarked, stirring his coffee. 

“I’m going crazy,” Hinoka moaned.

“I told you, you just need to take some time off. The stress from your last game must have been something awful.”

“I can’t take a break,” Hinoka sat up. “I have practice today, and we have a game this weekend.”

Ryoma smiled. “I already gave you my advice. Take it or leave it.”

Hinoka cocked her head to the side. “Hey, Ryoma.”

“Mm?” he sipped his coffee.

“How did you and Xander meet?”

“Oh, that. Hm…” Ryoma scratched his chin. “You know, now that you mention it, I’m not entirely sure. Some social function for work, I believe.”

“Does he ever talk about his sister?”

“His sister? He has two. He mentions them from time to time, but he’s usually pretty quiet about his family. Why do you ask?”

Hinoka rubbed her temples. “Just trying to figure something out.”

“Oh, I remember now!” Ryoma nodded triumphantly. “It was a dinner party for investors. Xander was representing a client that had donated a considerable sum of money. It was a one-time donation, so it didn’t constitute a conflict of interest when we hit it off.”

“Do you know who the donor was?”

Ryoma shook his head. “I couldn’t say. Gary something? Garner? Ganon? Something like that. Some big-wig defense contractor.”

Hinoka leaned back in her chair, listening carefully. She could hear Takumi in the shower and Sakura listening to music in her room as she got ready. She leaned forward conspiratorially.

“Hey, uh, can I ask you a weird question?”

“Of course.”

“Uh, you’ve dated a few people, right?”

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. “Yes…?”

“Uh, has anyone ever sent you, you know, uh,” Hinoka could feel her face turning bright red. “You know, um, uh, pictures? Like, you know, that sort of, uh-“

Ryoma raised his other eyebrow.

“Oh, gods,” Hinoka mumbled. “Forget it.”

Ryoma laughed. “Sorry, can’t say that’s something I have any experience with.”

 

-

 

Hinoka leaned against the support poles of the batting cage. “Put your back into it, Scarlet,” she said firmly. “There you go.”

Scarlet swung, landing a hit with a satisfying _THWACK!_

The practice session was going well enough. The heat wave in the city was still in full effect, but this afternoon was mild enough that being outside was just unpleasant, not unbearable. Hinoka passed Scarlet a bottle of a red-colored energy drink. Yukimura approached the girls on the other side of the batting cage.

“Hinoka,” he said sternly. “Switch out with Scarlet. I want you to practice batting. We can’t have you slip up like last time.”

“I know, I know,” Hinoka nodded. She picked up her bat and walked towards the pitching machine, ready to reload it. As she walked, she heard Yukimura instructing Scarlet to practice throwing and catching with the other girls.

Hinoka funneled all of her anger and frustration into practice. She always worked hard, but today was something else. As practice neared its conclusion her muscles burned and her shoulders cracked in their sockets. She took off her hat and poured a water bottle into her hair, relishing the feeling of cool moisture trickling down her cheeks and into her shirt. It was messy, sure, but at this point she was already drenched in sweat, so what was a little more water?

“Psst! Hey!”

She turned to the source of the voice. “Hm? Oh, hey, Orochi. What’s up?”

The girl’s hair, usually done up in an intricate bun, was now a tangled mess. It wasn’t just Hinoka feeling the heat, it seemed. “Are you doing anything after practice?”

Hinoka shook her head.

“Kagero told me that they’re going to turn on the sprinklers on the field in the evening as well as in the mornings now so the grass doesn’t die during the heat wave. The girls are going to all stay after practice and go run around in them. You in?”

“Does Yukimura know about this?”

“Nope,” Orochi shook her head. “He’d just yell at us about getting the field muddy and digging it up. We’re just going to stick around after he leaves.”

“Sounds good,” Hinoka said, wiping her face.

As practice drew to a close, the girls began to gather up their gear, piling up dusty baseball gloves and worn bats. Yukimura began loading the team equipment into his car’s trunk, leaving the girls to take car of their own stuff. Hinoka put her glove into her bag and zipped it shut.

“Remember, everyone!” Yukimura called out. “We’re playing the Mokushu Ninjas in three days! This is the first game that matter for the championships, so it will happen rain or shine! Which is good, as it’s supposed to rain that day. As long as the field isn’t a swamp, we will play. Everyone got it?”

“Yes sir!” came a chorus of exhausted voices.

“We still have practice tomorrow for everyone. Except you.” He turned to Hinoka. “You need to take a day off and get some rest.” The team then watched as Yukimura climbed into his car and drove off in a cloud of dust.

“Is it really going to rain?” asked Scarlet to no one in particular.

“Yeah, it’s supposed to,” Oboro said.

“It’s going to clear away the heatwave!” declared Orochi.

“What, you foresee that?” asked Scarlet, somewhat mockingly.

“My weather predictions are always spot on!” she replied.

“Yeah, ‘cause you saw the weather report on TV,” chided Kagero as she playfully jabbed Orochi’s side.

“Everyone, look!” Oboro pointed off into the distance. They team watched as rows of sprinklers sputtered to life over the grassy fields.

“Woohoo!” cried of joy rose up as the girls jogged off to the source of refreshment.

Hinoka joined them, joyfully jostling and joking as they careened across the field to the sprinklers. The sprays of cold water felt incredible after such a long, hot practice, and Hinoka could feel the water practically washing her stress away. She stood in front of a sprinkler, legs planted wide, arms spread.

“Hit me!” she said, as the rotation of water turned and blasted her with a chilly spray.

They danced in the spray of water, laughing and giggling, until they fell down, soaked and exhausted. Hinoka lay on her back in the muddy grass, her wet hair plastered to her face, staring up at the sky. She smiled.

Here, among her friends, she was untouchable. Nothing could ruin this. Not game scores, not championships, not Camilla, nothing. She sat up, looking around at the sprawled figures around her.

“You okay?” Rinkah asked from her prone position.

“Yeah,” smiled Hinoka. “I’m good.”

“I’m glad,” said Setsuna sleepily. “You really had us worried for a while, you know that?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Hinoka said, brushing her hair out of her face. “It’s been a weird couple of weeks.”

“Well, get it together! The championships are coming up, and we can’t have our pitcher falling apart, ‘kay?” Oboro playfully smacked her on the shoulder. Hinoka smiled.

They played in the water until the sun began to drop in the sky. The sprinklers sputtered and spat their last bursts of water and the girls paired off and separated to head to their homes and apartments. Hinoka smiled, watching Kagero and Orochi walking in the direction of the bus stop together. She turned her attention to her own bike and began to tie her bag onto the back. As she mounted up and kicked the kickstand back, she felt a sudden chill.

She looked up. Across the park, past the parking lot, the small playground, the sports fields, and finally to the baseball field. Behind the chain-link backstop, she spotted a figure sitting in the bleachers. For a second, she thought she spied a flash of purple. Then it was gone. _Huh._

She shrugged and stood up on her bike, pedaling away.

By the time Hinoka arrived back at the apartment, the bike ride had mostly dried her off. As she walked in, though, she dropped her bag by the door and lifted up bottom of her shirt to try and rub some of the remaining dampness from her hair.

“Oh, Hinoka! You’re here!” Sakura said cheerfully.

“Eh?” Hinoka lifted her head. “What’s up?”

“Someone dropped off something for you while you were at practice,” Takumi explained, looking up from his homework. “I put it on the kitchen table.”

“Huh.” Hinoka walked into the kitchen and immediately spied a large bouquet of flowers tied together with an ornate black ribbon. The bright rainbow of petals looked oddly familiar. Attached to the bouquet was a folded cardstock card with a single, neatly printed letter. She picked up the card:

_C_

Hinoka dropped it onto the table and turned around, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

“Who delivered these flowers?” she asked. Sakura looked up from her book.

“I’m n-not sure,” she said. “They rang the doorbell but no one was there when I opened it. They were just sitting on the porch. They sure are pretty, though, aren’t they?”

“Y-yeah…” Hinoka trailed off, walking back to the kitchen in a daze. Of course the flowers looked familiar. This wasn’t a store-bought arrangement either.

_Gods, this has got to constitute stalking at this point._

She shook her head. “I’m gonna step out for a second,” she called to her younger siblings. “I’ll just be on the porch if you need me.”

She stood out front of their apartment, leaning against the railing up to their front door. Nervously, she looked around before crouching down. From a secret hollow under the railing, she withdrew a pack of cigarettes and a beat-up plastic lighter.

As she tried to light one, a hand reached out and snatched it out of her mouth.

“That’ll kill you, you know. I thought you quit,” Ryoma said sourly.

“I did.”

Ryoma gestured at the pack in her hands.

“It’s for emergencies.”

“Is this an emergency?”

Hinoka drew another cigarette from the pack and put it in her mouth without lighting it. “I feel like I’m going crazy. It’s all your boyfriend’s psycho sister’s fault.”

“Still on this Camilla thing?” Ryoma sighed.

Hinoka shook her head. “This has got to be illegal. Stalking me, delivering me gifts…it’s insane.”

“Have you considered maybe it’s not out of ill will?”

She nervously chewed the end of the cigarette. _I’m not going to light it. I’m not going to light it_. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been to Xander’s house a few times, so I’ve gotten a chance to see Camilla in a more…natural environment? Does that make sense?”

“So?”

“She seems…kind of sad, actually.”

“What? Are you crazy? She’s so suave and bubbly. _Sad_?”

“All I’m saying is, their family is going through a lot. Sometimes it helps to have someone…you should know that as well as anyone.”

Hinoka looked down at the sidewalk and bit her lip. “Then she should be less weird about it. Stalking me crosses the line. And besides, I think sending pictures like this counts as sexual…well, sexual something!”

Ryoma laughed. “She’s a strange one, that’s for sure. But try and keep in mind that she’s a person, too. Try to separate the baseball rival from the human being.”

Hinoka rolled her eyes. “Look, big brother, you’re a smart guy. But you honestly don’t know what you’re talking about here.”

“Okay,” Ryoma said, finally snatching the unlit cigarette from Hinoka’s mouth. “I’m going over to see Xander tonight. Do you want me to say something?”

“No,” grumbled Hinoka. “I don’t want to make it weird.”

“How about I say something to Xander? If I explain the situation, perhaps he can get her to back off.”

“Yeah, okay,” Hinoka sighed, resigned. Ryoma held out his hand.

“What?” Hinoka asked. He gestured at the crumpled pack of cigarettes in her hand. She grumbled and handed it to him.

“Good. I’ll be back late this evening. Make sure Takumi and Sakura get to bed at a reasonable time, okay? See you later.”

 

-

 

She locked the bathroom door shut and bent over the tub, turning the water on full blast. Heat wave or no, she needed a bath.

As the tub filled, she dug through the cabinet under the sink, finally and triumphantly withdrawing a half-emptied bottle of bath soap. She poured out a sizeable amount into the frothing hot water before stripping out of her baseball uniform, now caked in dried mud. She tossed her pants and shirt into the laundry bin, set her phone on the sink, and stopped for a minute to look at herself in the mirror.

Her hair was matted and dirty and her face looked drained. _Gods, I really do look awful._ She pulled off her bra and stepped out of her underwear before slowly sliding herself into the tub. She could feel the hot water dissolving the caked layer of grime off her skin and she let out a sigh.

_Maybe having some time off will do me good. I know Sakura wanted to go to the pool sometime…I’ll ask if she wants to go tomorrow._ Hinoka closed her eyes. _Oh, wait, I think Azama wanted to hang out tomorrow. I guess I can ask to reschedule._

She wiped her hand on a towel and climbed out of the tub to grab her phone. It probably wasn’t waterproof, but as long as she didn’t drop it in the water it’d be fine, right?

She pulled up her messages and sent a text to Azama before snapping the phone shut and setting it down next to the tub. She closed her eyes again. _What a day._

The phone buzzed. _Okay, good. I’ll just ask Sakura to make sure she still wants to go before bed._ She stared at the phone. Beneath Azama’s name in her messages still sat _that_ message.

_Check your photos._

She stared at the message. She swallowed, trying to push down the lump in her throat. What was this feeling?

She navigated to her photos and scrolled halfway through her saved pictures before snapping the phone shut and tossing it away.

Several seconds passed. She could hear her heart in her ears. She reached out and grabbed the phone again. _Just one look won’t hurt, right? Right?_

She stared at the photo, suddenly feeling very faint. She shut the phone and dropped it again.

_Gods._

She felt a strange warmth welling up inside her. She slowly and deliberately moved a hand into the water. She exhaled.

Ryoma had been right. It hadn’t just been a long time since she dated someone. Even _this_ felt like she hadn’t done it in forever. She slid her hand down her stomach and between her legs.

It was quiet in the bathroom, the slow movements generating ripples of water around her in the bathtub. She let slip a soft gasp.

_Gods, what am I doing?_ She couldn’t stop herself, though. In her mind flashed imaged of deep violet eyes, soft lips, strong hands. She moved faster, the water lapping at her bare skin and the edges of the tub.

She moaned, a ragged breath sneaking out before she clasped a hand over her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut. She surrendered entirely to her thoughts, imagining the feel of those arms, those lips. Everything. The feeling inside her was welling up, feeling like a bubble about to burst. A final gasp, then she slumped back in the tub, feeling drained. She lay in the water, breathing heavily, feeling a strange sense of ease rolling over her. She opened her eyes and looked around the steamy bathroom. She could practically taste the name on her lips.

_Camilla._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gettin' a bit risque in this one!


	5. Chapter 5

“What the hell are _you_ doing here?” Hinoka snapped.

Camilla lifted her sunglasses and squinted at the angry redhead leaning over her. “I’m sorry,” she said, closing her book. “I was under the impression this pool was open to the public.”

“Yeah, it is, but why are _you_ here?” Hinoka glared at her. She was dressed in a red and white bikini tied with light teal tassels. Her arms were crossed over her chest angrily.

Camill sighed and sat up. “I wanted to come for a nice relaxing day with my younger siblings. Is that too much to ask for in the middle of a heat wave like this?” She shifted a towel off herself and Hinoka caught a glimpse of her tight black one-piece swimsuit. Her heart stuttered for a moment before she stopped herself and recomposed her angry demeanor.

“You’re following me.”

Camilla laughed. “Of course not, dear. Why would I?”

“W-w-why are you at _this_ pool of all places?” Hinoka stammered.

“I’m a member here, of course. What’s to say _you_ didn’t follow _me_ here?” Camilla smiled. Hinoka put her hands on her hips.

Sakura ran up behind her and grabbed her hand. “Come on, Big Sis! Let’s go swim!” Hinoka allowed herself to be dragged off, away from where Camilla was laying on a pool chain beneath a large canvas umbrella. Camilla smiled at her as she walked away.

“Woohoo!” a loud cry emanated from a short blonde girl who sprinted full-tilt at the deep end and leapt into the water.

“Be careful, Elise!” Camilla called after her. “Don’t run!”

“Sooorry,” Elise said, treading water. Her brother sat at the edge near her, dangling his feet into the water. “Leo, aren’t’cha gonna get in the pool?”

 Takumi sat cross-legged on a pool chair, eyes fixed on the blonde boy.

“T-Takumi, do you want to come swim?” Sakura asked. “Hinoka and I are going to stay in the shallow end, probably.”

Before Takumi had a chance to respond, a young brown-haired girl skipped across the edge of the pool and ran at Sakura. “Sakura!”

“Hana!” Sakura smiled brightly. “I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Of course!” Hana replied, throwing her arms around Sakura. “I told Mozu to come too, but I think she might be too busy with chores.”

Sakura turned to Hinoka. “Can we get in the water now?”

“Did you put sunscreen on? You know how easily you burn!” Hinoka checked.

“Uh-huh!” Sakura nodded.

Hinoka sat at the edge of the shallow end of the pool, up to her ankles in the water. She watched Sakura and Hana splashing and playing in the water. Coming to the pool had been a great idea. A pity Ryoma had no interest whatsoever.

She felt a shadow blocking out the sun overtop of her. She looked up.

Now donning a light swimsuit coverup, Camilla peeked at her from underneath her black sunglasses. “I think we need to have a little chat. Hungry?” she asked.

“Uh…” Hinoka paused. “Yeah, okay. Sure.” She stood up. “Hold on a second.”

 

-

 

After putting Takumi in charge of watching Sakura, Hinoka went with Camilla to the pool’s snack bar. Now they sat at a hot metal table in the shade of the pool’s decorative trees. Hinoka hungrily munched on a plate of nachos.

“So,” she said through a mouthful of cheese, “what do you want now? Here to ruin my life some more?”

Camilla smiled somewhat sadly. “Of course not. I just wanted to talk.” She had opted for an ice cream sandwich, and she was now peeling the wrapping off of it in a slow, methodical manner.

“Okay,” Hinoka said. “Talk.”

“I wanted to apologize.”

“That’s a good place to start,” Hinoka admitted.

“I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that.”

“Specifically?”

“Getting you drunk, taunting you. That was incredibly rude.”

Hinoka nodded. “And the other things? The flowers? Showing up at practice? The _picture_? Which I deleted, by the way,” Hinoka lied.

Camilla blushed deeply and quickly swallowed a mouthful of ice cream. “I…it’s not what it looks like, I promise.”

“Well then, what is it? It certainly looks like stalking and harassment to me.”

Camilla sighed. “Oh, gods. I can be such a fool sometimes.”

Hinoka crunched on a tortilla chip, looking expectantly at her.

“I…” Camilla’s blush spread across her face and she ducked her head down. “I…I was trying to flirt with you.”

Hinoka almost choked. “W-what?” she sputtered. “I know _that_! You even said you were trying to seduce me! Or…something!”

Camilla threw her hands up. “No, I promise it wasn’t that! That was what I was doing, at first. But…”

“But what?”

“I didn’t lie to you. I hadn’t come to the park intending to mess with you. When I saw you there, looking so sad, I knew I just _had_ to do something. The offer to buy you a drink was genuine.”

“And then the creepiness and the threats?”

“I realized I had maybe misstepped. I realized that I couldn’t do something that heartless to you. Do you remember what you said to me that night?”

“Huh? When?” Hinoka was genuinely caught off guard by this.

“When we got back to my house, when I was changing you out of your dirty clothes. You grabbed my shoulder and leaned in to say something. You said ‘Camilla, you’re incredible.’”

“Liar.” Hinoka sneered.

“I swear it’s the truth. You started crying and talking about how you felt so jealous because – in your words – I was so beautiful and talented and popular. I stayed with you until you calmed down and fell asleep.”

Hinoka stared at her. She looked entirely serious. Camilla took of her sunglasses and looked Hinoka directly in the eyes,

“I swear. That’s what happened.”

“Bullshit.”

Camilla looked genuinely downtrodden, and Hinoka suddenly felt like she kicked a puppy.

“I’m sorry,” Camilla said softly. “I…I had come up with this whole plan to mess with you and get you to throw your team off, but…once I met you, I couldn’t go through with it. It’s easier to be mean to someone you haven’t met. Meeting you, and hearing Ryoma go on and on about how great you are…it really changed how I felt. My plan ended up backfiring.”

Hinoka stared at her empty plate, listening to the rustling wind and the distant laughter and splashes of children in the pool. _I guess that’s why she was so nice the next day_.

“You had seemed so…well, for lack of a better phrase, into me. I thought you’d appreciate the picture, and the flowers, and…” Camilla sniffled. “Oh, gods, I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry.”

Hinoka hurried to put a hand on her shoulder. “N-no, it’s okay! It’s okay! Please don’t cry!”

Camilla wiped her nose with a napkin. “I’m so stupid. I should just go.” She began to stand, but Hinoka grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

“No, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have been so mean.” Hinoka assured her. She recalled what Ryoma had told her the night before. “Everyone told me that I was being paranoid, and reaching crazy conclusions, and I didn’t listen. I got so caught up in being enemies that I didn’t even stop to consider you as a human being.”

“I should have apologized far earlier,” Camilla said. “I’m sorry, and I would understand if you want nothing to do with me ever again.”

“No, don’t blame yourself,” Hinoka said. She crossed her arms. “How about this. We’re both at fault, and we’re both sorry. Slate’s clean. Sound good?”

Camilla smiled. “So what do we do now?”

Hinoka tapped her fingers on the table. “Hm…let’s try this again. Hello, my name’s Hinoka. You are?” She held out her hand in a mock handshake. Camilla took her hand.

“Hello, Hinoka. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Camilla. Would you be interested in joining me for dinner tonight?”

Hinoka froze. “W-what?”

“I’m asking you out on a date,” Camilla smiled. “Either I can’t do subtlety or it’s lost on you, but I figured this would be a better plan.”

Hinoka laughed. “Uh, okay. Yeah, why not?” She smiled.

“Fabulous,” Camilla said, obviously excited. “What shall we do?”

Hinoka giggled nervously and blushed. “Uh, I really don’t know. I may have missed all of your hints because I haven’t been on a date in forever.”

“How about a classic, then? Dinner and a movie?” Camilla suggested.

“Sure, sounds good.”

“Do you have any preferences?”

“Not really,” Hinoka admitted. _I can’t even name the last nice restaurant I went to_. “Can you surprise me?”

Camilla, clearly delighted, laughed. “Excellent! I’ll text you the details after we leave. Formal wear, shoot for seven o’clock?”

“Yeah,” Hinoka nodded. “See you then.”

 

-

 

Hinoka flopped backwards, underwear-clad, onto her bed. _Gods, this is difficult_. She had gone through her entire wardrobe, and, realizing that she had barely anything suitable for a nice date, collapsed onto her bed in despair. Strew around the room were various leggings, tights, skirts, dresses, and jackets, all in various states of unfolding and unbuttoning.

She groaned.

“What about this?” Sakura leaned out of the closet holding a crumpled dress.

“Doesn’t fit me,” Hinoka grumbled. “I haven’t worn that in years.”

Sakura returned to digging through the closet. “Why don’t you call Oboro? Isn’t she really good at this sort of thing?”

“If I call her, she’ll ask who my date is with, and then the whole team will know,” Hinoka explained, sitting up.

“You could say it’s a secret?” suggested Sakura.

“No good,” Hinoka shook her head. “That’d made it exciting, and next thing I know half the team would be following me around.” She leaned over and pulled a pair of white stockings off the floor. “I just don’t have anything I can wear…” she put her face in her hands.

“Okay, how about we try a different approach?” Sakura tried. “If you don’t have anything formal, how about a more casual but stylish look?”

“What if I show up and everyone at the restaurant is better-dressed than me?! I’ll stick out like a sore thumb!”

“It’s okay!” Sakura said, trying to calm her down. “You’re going to be okay!”

“I should just cancel, shouldn’t I?”

“No!” Sakura sat next to her on the bed. “You’re being silly!”

Hinoka sighed and picked up a short red skirt off the floor.

“Here, how about this?” Sakura said brightly. She paced around the room picking up pieces of clothes, examining, discarding them, and moving on. She tossed a short red and white sleeveless dress at Hinoka, then dug a dark red bolero jacket out from under Hinoka’s bed.

“Wear these and your white leggings with those nice red boots you have! That’d be cute, right?”

Hinoka grumbled and pulled the dress on before putting the jacket overtop. She looked in the mirror.

“How’s that look?” Sakura asked.

“Not terrible, I guess. I still feel like I’m going to stick out.”

 “Oh my gosh, look at the time!” Sakura suddenly cried out. “You need to get going! She’s going to be here to pick you up any minute!”


	6. Chapter 6

Hinoka looked around the restaurant nervously. The date started off poorly when she said Camilla looked “amorgeous”, and from that point she tried to keep her mouth shut and try to stop herself from saying anything else dumb.

Camilla, friendly as always, had brought them to a fancy restaurant downtown. The dining room was partially indoor and partially on a balcony looking out over the city, and Hinoka could just _feel_ the amount of money in the room around her. She gingerly opened the menu. _Oh gods. Where are the prices? Nothing has prices?!_ She closed the menu.

“So, uh, have you been here before?” she asked, clearing her throat.

“Hm? Oh, yes,” Camilla nodded. “I’ve attended a few dinners here in the past. It’s normally tough to get a seat, so I pulled a few strings to get us a table tonight.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that!” Hinoka said politely.

“No, but I wanted to. The view is just gorgeous, and the food is definitely worth the price.”

_Yeah, the price. Ha. Ha._ Hinoka found her gaze wandering to her date’s attire, a formal black dress that showed just enough cleavage to make Hinoka flip back and forth between staring and turning away in embarrassment.

“Anything to drink, ma’am?” A waiter stopped by their table, thankfully breaking Hinoka out of her trance.

“Uh, just water for me, thanks,” she said quickly.

“Oh, don’t be silly,” Camilla said, waving a hand as she pored over the drink menu. “We’ll start with a bottle of chardonnay. And a water for me as well, please.”

“An excellent choice, ma’am,” the waiter bowed and left.

“I’m sorry, I can’t really say I know that much about wine,” Hinoka admitted somewhat quietly.

“That’s why I picked a chardonnay,” Camilla laughed. Hinoka got the feeling she was being made fun of. She felt her phone buzz in her purse.

“I love your boots, by the way,” Camilla said. She picked up a menu and began to thumb through it, humming.

“Oh, thanks,” Hinoka said. She crossed and uncrossed her legs, then tapped her toes on the floor softly. She hadn’t been on a date in such a long time, and this certainly wasn’t what she expected. _Dinner and a movie? What’s next, going to an opening night theatrical production? What happened to dates at like…diners?!_

She looked through the menu. _I don’t even know what half these foods are! They don’t have descriptions on the menu? What does charcuterie mean!?_ She desperately looked for a dish that she could identify based on name alone.

_Oh, thank gods,_ she breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted the salad section just as the waiter returned with their wine.

“Are you ready to order, ma’am?”

“I’ll just have the chicken Caesar salad,” Hinoka said, closing her menu and reeling from the stress. She reached into her purse and confirmed that she did indeed have her medication in case she began to panic. _Gods, this is going to be the death of me._

“Nonsense!” Camilla again chastised her for her choice. “We’ll start with the grana Padano bruschetta _,_ then I will have the dry aged ribeye with porcini mushrooms and my date will have – “ she paused and looked at Hinoka. “Italian okay?”

“Oh, uh, s-sure!” Hinoka stuttered.

“She will have the paccheri with lamb ragù,” Camilla said, closing her menu and handing it to the waiter.

  
“Right away, ma’am.” The waiter bowed and left.

  
Camilla leaned in conspiratorially. “Don’t worry, the food is all excellent, and the names are mostly just for show. Apparently they couldn’t just put ‘pasta with lamb sauce’ on the menu.” Hinoka laughed. She felt her phone buzz in her purse again. She frowned.

  
“So,” she asked, trying to be friendly. “What do you do? Other than play baseball, of course.”

  
“Oh, unfortunately, not much these days. Most of my time is spent taking care of my younger siblings. I don’t mind it at all, though! They’re just such wonderful children.” She suddenly looked darker. “I also do work for my father’s company, of course.” She shook her head and took a drink of her wine. A longer drink than Hinoka would have expected.

  
“Oh? What do you do? My brother said it’s some sort of defense company?”

  
Camilla nodded. “Ghastly business. We deal mostly with private military contracts. Any time you read about some sort of monstrous tragedy in the news, you’re sure to find Garon’s hand in there somewhere.” Her disgust was obvious. “I’m sure you remember hearing about what happened in Cheve awhile back?”

 

“Oh, gods, that’s awful…” Hinoka looked terrified. “If you hate it so much, why don’t you quit? Someone like you, I’m sure you’d have luck doing whatever it is you really want to do!”

  
Camilla smiled sadly. “It’s not that simple, unfortunately. From a young age, there was an assumption that Xander and I would take control of the company when we became old enough. If you met our father, you’d understand. It’s hard to say no to that man.”

  
“Can’t you-“

  
Camilla held up a hand. “I’ve heard it all before. The fact of the matter is, Father is still legally Leo, Elise, and Corrin’s guardian. And he’s not above letting something happen if we disobey him. He’s made that much perfectly clear.” She drained her wine glass. “Xander and I made a pact before he went off to college that when we had some say in the direction of the company, we’d do our best to mitigate the harm it can do. If we let someone else take over…that’s a lot of power that we’d rather not let into someone else’s hands.” She poured herself another glass before smiling sheepishly at Hinoka. “But you don’t want to hear about any of that. Far too serious for a night like tonight. What about you? What do you do – other than play baseball, I mean?”

  
“Oh, me!” Hinoka stumbled on her words, surprised in the sudden turnaround in the conversation. She paused before speaking as a server returned with their appetizer.

  
“Oh, man, these are good!” she said through a mouthful of cheese and bread. “What did you say these were again?”

  
“Bruschetta? Yes, it’s delicious,” Camilla said, taking a slower and more measured bite.

  
Hinoka swallowed and wiped her mouth, remembering her manners. Idiot, stop talking with food in your mouth! She reached for another piece of bread as her phone buzzed a third time. What the hell?  
“Sorry, what was I saying?” Hinoka asked, trying to regain control of the conversation.

  
“What you do?”

  
“Oh, yeah,” she caught herself before chewing while speaking again. “I guess I’m like you, where I mostly just take care of my siblings. I also teach self-defense classes at a local gym, though that kind of winds down in the summer.”

  
“Self-defense?” Camilla asked, surprised.

  
“Mmhm,” Hinoka nodded. “Mostly to younger groups. I actually just finished a program that was aimed at teaching young girls basic self-defense moves. It was less discipline-focused and more for handling emergencies.” She could hear her phone buzz again.

 

“That’s incredible,” Camilla said, sounding genuinely impressed. “That must be really rewarding work.”

  
Hinoka laughed. “I don’t know if I’d say that, but I enjoy it enough. I actually got into it in college. A friend of mine, Setsuna, accidentally…well, it’s a long story, but the gist of it is that I had to help her fight off some mean guys. And I mean fight. I think I still have a scar from it on my thigh.”

  
“I’d like to see that sometime,” Camilla said into her drink.

  
“What?”

  
“What? Hm? I didn’t say anything,” Camilla quickly spoked over Hinoka, blushing slightly.

  
A series of loud vibrations rippled through Hinoka’s purse. Sounds like at least five texts…what could be happening? Suddenly the phone rang. “Oh, gods, I’m so sorry,” Hinoka sifted through her purse. She stared at the phone for a second, watching it vibrate. “I’m sorry, I think I need to take this.” She looked at Camilla apologetically. “I’ll just be a minute.”

  
Camilla nodded and waved her off.

  
Hinoka flipped open the phone as she navigated between tables. She rounded a corner near the bathrooms and held the phone up to her ear.

  
“What, Azama?” she snapped. “I’m a little busy right now!”

  
“What are you doing? You know who that is, right?” it was Setsuna’s voice on the other end of the line.

 

“W-wha- what am I doing?!” Hinoka hissed, trying to keep her voice down. “What are you doing?”

  
“I’m not on a date with the enemy!” Setsuna said in a soft but accusatory tone.

  
“On a date wit-“ Hinoka paused. She leaned out around the corner and scanned the restaurant. “How do you know who I’m on a date with?”

 

“I spotted you,” Azama had taken his phone back. “You really stick out here, you know that?”

  
“Where are you?” Hinoka ducked behind the corner again, trying to hide but not entirely sure what from.

  
Azama laughed.

 

“Look, can we talk about this later?” Hinoka pleaded.

  
“You have a lot of explaining to do, but okay. The whole team eagerly awaits your explanation.”

  
“Y-you told the whole team?!”

  
Azama laughed again and Hinoka heard the click as he hung up. Fuming, she emerged back into the restaurant and began to walk back to their table. As she walked, she looked over the variety of patrons, most rather plain-looking sorts in formal attire. She spied in the far corner of the restaurant two women watching her. One had bright red hair and the other had blue hair adorned with a black bandana. They looked oddly familiar. The redhead made eye contact with Hinoka then immediately looked away, bringing her menu up in front of her face like a spy with a newspaper.

  
That was weird.

  
“Hey, Camilla,” she asked as she sat down again. “Uh, weird question, but did you tell anyone about tonight?”  
Camilla cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. “I’m not sure. Though, now that I think about it, I may have mentioned it to a friend of mine…why do you ask?”  
Even from here, Hinoka could see the two women trying – and failing – to surreptitiously keep an eye on them. “N-no reason,” Hinoka said, slightly exasperated. _Damn, I could go for a cigarette._

-

Dinner was, as promised, incredible. Camilla waved off any thought of Hinoka paying, much to her date’s secret relief. Hinoka only spied Setsuna and Azama once, as the two were leaving – no one else would manage to get caught in a tablecloth at such a fancy restaurant, of course.

  
As they exited the restaurant into the warm night air, Hinoka felt a sense of calm. It’s okay. Things are going well. That wasn’t nearly the disaster it could have been. “Where to next?” she asked Camilla, already knowing that Camilla had something planned. She had initially said dinner and a movie, but Camilla seemed the sort to be…spontaneous.

  
“Up for another motorcycle ride?” Camilla asked, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Hinoka nodded. Their ride here hadn’t been too bad – it turns out motorcycles were actually pretty fun when you weren’t already dizzy or exhausted. It didn’t help that the city streets being narrow and congested meant that Camilla couldn’t get going too fast, much to Hinoka’s relief.

  
As they walked, Camilla chatted happily. “Initially I was planning on finding a drive-in movie theater to go to, but I figured it would be uncomfortable to sit on a motorcycle for two hours with nowhere to lean back.”

  
“You should have said something!” Hinoka replied. “I could have brought our car!”

  
“Mm, that would ruin the surprise, though, wouldn’t it?” Camilla smirked. “Besides, parking in the city is horrible enough with a bike. I can’t imagine how far we would have had to drive to look for a spot for a car.”

  
“It’s really not too bad,” Hinoka said. As they stopped at a crosswalk, she gazed longingly at a truck parked on the curb, emblazoned with a colorful illustration of a crêpe. Camilla noticed her gaze.  
“Would you like to stop?”

  
“Oh, I don’t know if I could after that dinner,” she said. “I’m stuffed. How about we take a rain check on that for now?”

  
Camilla nodded as the pedestrian crossing light switched. “I’d like that, too,” she said.

  
Fortunately for Hinoka, Camilla’s idea of “movie” was a little more casual than her idea of a dinner date. Just a regular movie theater, nothing crazy or fancy, Hinoka sighed, pulling her borrowed motorcycle helmet off as Camilla shut the bike down. The trip had, again, been pleasant, the warm night air feeling pleasant as they wove through traffic on their way outside the city. Hinoka was surprised, initially, until Camilla assured her that this theater was both cheaper than those in the city and had better showtimes.  
“The difference, you see, is that this theater doesn’t just play the big blockbuster hits. It also often plays more interesting shows like art films or foreign ones. One time I even caught a showing of the two-part international fantasy classic Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.”

  
Hinoka looked at her, surprised. “I can’t say you look like someone who would be interested in that sort of thing.”

 

“You’d be surprised,” Camilla laughed. “I really only came because a friend of mine insisted that it was good.”

  
“Was it?”

 

“Hm…can’t say it was my type of movie. I appreciated it for what it was, but I never much cared for fantasy. Dragons and magic? Ridiculous.”

  
Hinoka laughed and looked over the night’s showings. “Okay, then, Miss Film Snob, what sort of movie are you into?”

  
Camilla pored over the list before pointing.

  
“That…that sounds like a drama.”

  
Camilla nodded. “We can pick something else if you’d prefer?”

  
“N-no, it’s fine! I just don’t get out to the movies much, so I don’t know what’s good and what’s bad. I trust your judgment.” In her head, Hinoka was moping. Dramas? Ugh. Talk about a cliché. She smiled at Camilla. “I’ll get the tickets, okay? You paid for dinner so it’s only fair.” She also bought a bucket of popcorn and a large soda.

  
“One straw or two?” the cashier asked, securing the plastic lid onto the cup.

 

“Uh,” Hinoka was caught off guard by the question. “On-t-t-two!”

  
“You sure about that?” Camilla teased her softly. Hinoka began to think that her face was just going to be blushing every second that she was around Camilla.

  
The theater was a nice place, a dimly lit and red-carpeted room. It looked like there were only a few other people in the audience. Most people probably weren’t going out to see dramatic romance movies on weekday nights, Hinoka figured. They settled into their seats and chatted until the lights dimmed and the movie began to play. Camilla was immediately transfixed, staring intently at the screen.

  
Wow, she must really get into these things, huh? Hinoka thought, trying to quietly slurp the soda. She put it in the seat’s cupholder and reached for a handful of popcorn.  
As the film went on, she admitted to herself that there may be some merit to these dramas. It was a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque romance that centered on two lovers from rival factions during a war. The man was a soldier in the army and his lover was a nurse in an enemy hospital. There was actually a decent amount of action, which Hinoka found surprising, but it had more than enough dramatic monologues for her to stomach.

  
Oh, gods. Oh, no. She watched the screen in horror, knowing that a sex scene was about to unfold. She looked nervously at Camilla, who was watching the screen with bated breath.  
Hinoka pulled the drink out again – the soda was gone, so instead, she crunched on some of the now-melting ice. She could feel the secondhand embarrassment seeping into her as the couple on screen got hot and heavy. This is just too much.

  
She reached over into Camilla’s seat, groping for a handful of popcorn. Instead, she felt her hand connect with Camilla’s lap. Her fingers delicately brushed against Camilla’s thighs, delicately draped in the soft fabric of her dress.

  
Oh, gods. Hinoka froze. Fear flashed into her mind. She glanced down and saw that Camilla had set the empty bucket of popcorn on the floor next to them. Her hand was still there, resting in Camilla’s lap. She felt her heart in her throat.

  
Talk about sending the wrong message. Hinoka quickly withdrew her hand and leaned away.

  
“Oh, gods, I’m so sorry, I was reachi-“ she frantically whispered. Camilla smiled at her and nodded.

  
“It’s fine,” she assured her. “It was just an accident.”

  
Hinoka leaned away, face searing, desperately wishing that the entire theater would be demolished by an asteroid to save her the embarrassment. Forget about an awkward movie scene, that was awful! She melted into the back of her padded chair.

  
The rest of the movie seemed to take an eternity. Hinoka only half-paid attention, too busy trying to merge with the seat behind her. It was just more drama, as far as she could tell. At the climax of the film, the main girl was commanded by an officer to shoot her lover. She refused, and both the leads were gunned down in a spray of lead. Hinoka thought it was all a bit ham-fisted, but Camilla was bawling by the time the credits rolled.

  
Hinoka escorted her out, stopping in the bathroom to grab some paper towels to use as tissues.

  
“It was…j-just so…sad!” Camilla sniffled, blowing her nose. “They l-loved each other so much…even enough to face down death together!”

  
“Yeah, that sure was something,” Hinoka patted her on the back gently. Camilla blew her nose again and Hinoka took the soiled paper towels and tossed them into a trash can. They walked out to the parking lot, Hinoka’s hand still gently resting on Camilla’s arm. Fortunately, it seemed, the emotional turmoil was enough to derail the incident from earlier.  
As Hinoka climbed off the bike in front of their apartment, she stopped and looked at Camilla again. She smiled.

  
“I had a great time tonight, Camilla. I really did.”

  
“Want to do it again sometime?” Camilla asked.

  
“Yeah, I think I’d like that,” Hinoka smiled sheepishly. “Oh, uh, I forgot to ask – are you guys playing a game this weekend?”

  
Camilla shook her head, her long purple hair flowing in the late-night breeze. “Not this weekend. Our next one is early in the week. How about you?”

  
Hinoka nodded. “We’re playing Mokushu on Saturday.”

  
“Watch out – their pitcher’s got a mean curveball,” Camilla warned, pulling her helmet on.

  
“Thanks for the tip. Be careful on the drive home, okay?”

  
She stood at the front door, watching the black motorbike and the rider sputter off down the road, melding into the night.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what happened with the formatting there, but the second half wouldn't paste right so I had to do the spacing manually. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	7. Chapter 7

Hinoka sat on the bench, half-eaten granola bar in hand. The game had been going well enough so far, and the weather looked like it was holding for now.

She looked at the sky – dark clouds roiled in the distance, but the sky was still blue above the baseball field. She took off her hat and scratched her scalp. Setsuna walked off the field, having just scored another run. She took off her batting gloves and sat heavily next to Hinoka on the bench.

“Nice job!” Hinoka congratulated her, passing a water bottle. Sestuna gratefully took it and nodded.

“Uh, Setsuna,” she said, looking around to make sure no one was paying particular attention to them. “Did you…did you actually tell anyone about – about, you know…”

“Huh? Oh, no, I didn’t…” Setsuna replied. “Azama just said that to annoy you.”

“Oh, thank gods,” Hinoka breathed a sigh of relief. She had spent the past two days wracked with fear that someone would confront her about it, and it was made worse by the fact that no one made any mention today, either. “Look, it’d be best to just keep it between us for now, okay?” Setsuna nodded.

The air was cool and breezy – Hinoka could feel the wind from the oncoming storm rippling out across the field, caressing her face gently and ruffling her hair. None of her siblings could make it to this game, unfortunately, but she didn’t mind. The resolution of the whole Camilla…ordeal felt like a massive weight had lifted off her shoulders. On top of that, the heat wave really did look like it was breaking as the wall of stormclouds loomed over the field.

_It’s a good day,_ Hinoka thought as she made her way out to the pitcher’s plate. They were winning, to boot. Mokushu was a decent team, but they relied almost entirely on offensive play, meaning it was easy to slip runs past them. The downside to that was that their batters were incredibly aggressive, swinging heavily at just about every pitch – and succeeding most of the time.

Hinoka threw a screwball, silently cheering as the batter whiffed her bat through the empty air. She eyed the sky nervously, knowing that the rain was going to start soon – with the right combination of skill and luck, they could finish enough of the game to not need to postpone it.

The batter hit the third pitch, sending a pop fly out into centerfield. She came to a stop, huffing, at first base.

Hinoka caught the ball as it was tossed back into the infield and readied herself for the next batter. She stood straight, readied herself to throw, then – _hey!_ Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the batter on first base lean forward, ready to spring towards second.  Hinoka turned, ready to interrupt the steal, and the runner backed off.

Hinoka resumed her pitching. The next batter was a heavyset muscular woman with a rather intimidating face. She spat into the dirt as she lined herself up to hit. Hinoka gulped.

The first pitch was a foul hit, the baseball ricocheting out into the side of the backstop. The second pitch was a ball – thrown a little too low. As Hinoka wound up to throw, she saw the runner on first take off – _she’s stealing the base!_ Hinoka turned around and whipped the ball towards Orochi, who snapped her glove shut around the ball and stepped onto the base. _First out. Not bad_.

Hinoka readied herself again. She paused as the batter gave her an odd look. The batter’s thick eyebrows creased and she smirked at Hinoka. Determined, Hinoka hurled a changeup.

The batter didn’t fall for it and remained still as the ball sailed past her and the umpire called a ball. On the next pitch, the batter hit a solid line-drive straight at Hinoka. She dove to the side and stretched her arm out, satisfied as she felt the solid _whump!_ as she caught the ball. _Two outs. Let’s go._

She adjusted her hat as she felt the first pattering of raindrops on her skin. _Great._

****

-

A peal of thunder ripped through the sky as Hinoka looked out through the backstop. The rain had held itself off as just a drizzle for now, and it looked like this was going to be their first victory in the championship series. She stood up and picked up a bat, wiping rain from her forehead as she walked up to the plate. Her hitting had been okay – well, not great, admittedly, but the rest of the team had made up for it with excellent playing. She was still amazed by Rinkah’s home run earlier in the game, which brought her and two other runners home.

The rain began to worsen, and a flash of lightning crackled in the distance. The umpire made the call that this would be the last batter – the game was pretty much decided anyway.

Hinoka readied herself and looked at the pitcher – it was the same woman who had given her that funny look before. Hinoka frowned.

The first pitch was a fastball right down the middle – Hinoka missed. The second pitch was again a fastball down the middle. Prepared for it this time, she managed to tip the ball off into the side of the field. Foul ball. Strike two. The pitcher sneered.

She wound up for another throw, this time hurling a curveball.

Hinoka braced herself and swung, trying to adjust her swing to the listing of the ball. The ball sliced through the air and curved towards her, and she felt the dull crunch of the ball colliding with her shoulder. She cried out and dropped her bat into the now-muddy field. She clutched her shoulder, feeling sparks of pain shooting through her arm. _Holy sh-_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash of thunder. The umpire called the game and she slowly walked back to her team, still holding her shoulder in her opposite hand.

“Are you okay?” Scarlet asked, concerned. “That looked like a nasty hit!”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Hinoka gasped, trying in vain to rotate her shoulder.

“Gods, I sure hope so,” Rinkah nodded, holding her bag over her head to block out the rain. “Hey, want a ride with me? No sense biking back in weather like this.”

“What about my bike?” Hinoka asked, grimacing.

“I think I have a bike rack in my trunk.”

“Okay, thanks, Rinkah.”

 

-

Hinoka found herself again sitting at the kitchen table, this time holding an ice pack against her shoulder. She had stripped off her rain-soaked shirt and revealed a nasty purple bruise spreading across her shoulder. She tried rotating her arm and grunted with pain. _Not good_.

Listened to the pattering of rain outside the thin walls of the apartment, thankful that, if nothing else, the weather was finally beginning to cool off. Sakura and Takumi were at school now, no doubt enjoying the last few days of classes before summer break set in for real. They’d be home soon, but for now there was nothing stopping her from sitting shirtless in the dining room. She sighed and stood up, slowly making her way to the fridge.

Even opening the fridge door hurt, and Hinoka groaned again. _This had better heal damn quick_.

She slumped down at the table, water bottle in hand. The game had been good, barring those last few moments – they were now ahead in the championships, and making it to the final game wouldn’t be too much of an issue. _Except…_ she stared gloomily at her black and blue flesh. She grimaced.

The pattering of the rain intensified, a shift in wind rattling the sides of the rowhouse with a deluge of water.

She paused. She could hear something else in the rain. _Is that…?_ Someone pounded at the door, louder this time. She checked the time – still too early for Sakura and Takumi to be back. _Who could it be?_

Hinoka walked towards the front door, draping her unbuttoned baseball shirt over her shoulders. She peered through the peephole as she undid the latch and unlocked the door.

Through a film of rainwater, she could see  -

“Camilla?” she asked, opening the door in surprise. Through the front came a gust of wind, spraying Hinoka with warm rain.

Camilla was dressed rather nicely, donning a tight-fitted white button-down shirt and black slacks. She held her arms up, using a now-soaked black jacket as a makeshift umbrella. Her hair was wet and matted, sticking to her forehead and face and plastering her shoulders. Her shoes, tasteful flats, were muddy.

“Do you mind?” Camilla asked, somewhat impatiently.

Hinoka realized she had been staring. “Oh, gods, sorry! Come in, come in!” She struggled to close the door behind Camilla, pushing against the force of the wind and rain. “What a storm, huh?”

Camilla stood in the entrance to the apartment, dripping wet, leaving a muddy puddle on the floor.

“Uh – towels!” Hinoka declared. “I’ll be right back!” She dashed up the stairs for the bathroom, and soon returned with a stack of clean towels, which very quickly became dirtied as Camilla wiped her face and dried her hair.

“W-w-what are you doing here?” Hinoka asked, helping her sponge up some of the water from the entryway.

“I was in the neighborhood,” Camilla said casually. “I was actually here on business – well, just down the street at a meeting. Then the rain started…then my bike wouldn’t start…gods, I’m starting to think I’ve inherited Arthur’s luck.”

“Who?” Hinoka asked, using a towel to ruffle her own damp hair.

“Oh, never mind. The gist is that I was nearby, and rightly assumed you’d be in. Thank you so much, by the way.”

“O-of course,” Hinoka nodded. She took another towel from Camilla and began to stack the dirty towels up. “Um, I can put some coffee on, if you’d like?”

“Tea would be wonderful,” Camilla said, sighing.

“Okay! If you want, you can go shower and clean up, and I’ll throw this stuff – “ she kicked the pile of sopping wet towels, “in the laundry and put some tea on for you. I don’t t-“ she paused. “I’m sorry, is there a problem?”

Camilla, who was blushing slightly, shook her head and smiled. “Your shirt is a little…open, dear.”

Hinoka looked down. She hadn’t buttoned up her baseball shirt, giving Camilla a full view of her sports bra and toned abs. Hinoka’s face lit up red and she hurriedly pulled the two edges of the shirt together, covering herself.

“Oh, gods, I’m so sorry!” she began frantically buttoning the shirt back up, turning her back to Camilla. “W-what was I saying?”

“Something about showering, and tea, and…?” Camilla reminded her.

“Oh! Uh…” Hinoka struggled to speak while threading the buttons through the buttonholes. Each awkward twist of her shoulder sparked pain. “I…agh, shit…uh…I don’t really have any clothes you’d fit into or anything, but no one will be home for awhile if you’d want a robe or somethi-“ she stopped midsentence. _What am I suggesting?!_

“Anything would be better than these wet clothes,” Camilla admitted.

“Okay,” Hinoka said, recovering from her embarrassment. She began to fill a teakettle with water. “If you want to just leave your clothes outside the bathroom I’ll throw them in the laundry.”

“Thank you so much, darling. I really can’t possibly express how grateful I am.”

Hinoka shook her head. “Think nothing of it. Any tea preference?”

“Anything warm sounds good to me.”

Hinoka nodded. “The bathroom is upstairs and down the hall. It’s second door on the right, but I trust you to find it.”

Hinoka got to work heating up the teakettle and dug out a bag of tea leaves. _This is…unexpected, to say the least_. As she gathered up the wet towels from the front of the apartment, she frowned and lamented her own state – also damp and dirty. _I need to change too, and I wouldn’t mind a bath either, especially not – NO._ She stopped herself. _Nope! Not thinking about that!_ She walked the towels through the kitchen, leaving a trail of muddy drips, and loaded them into the washing machine in the laundry room.

She headed up the stairs next, coming up to the second floor and spying a neatly folded pile of wet dress clothes. She gathered up the clothes in her arms, taking care to not think too much about what she was invariably holding. She felt a painful twinge in her shoulder, and she dropped the laundry, scattering it around the hall. _Dammit!_ She bent over to pick up the pants, shirt, jacket…she felt her face getting warm. _It’s just a bra. It’s fine._ She picked up the bra, a lacy black thing, and idly wondered what size Camilla was – _No! Stop thinking those things!_ She then spotted a crumpled pair of underwear and closed her eyes.

_It’s just underwear. It’s fine._ She picked up all the clothes and began moving down the stair to load them into the washing machine. _Who the hell wears a thong like that to work, anyway?_

-

 

Camilla and Hinoka sat together on the couch, drinking tea. Camilla was now showered and sat in one of Hinoka’s bathrobes, her damp lavender hair draped over her shoulders. After she had given Camilla the bathrobe (passed through barely-opened bathroom door with eyes squeezed shut), Hinoka hopped into the shower to quickly rise off the grime and rain from the game. She was now comfortably dressed in a short pair of striped shorts and a loose teal t-shirt.

She cautiously sipped the tea, careful not to burn herself.

Camilla was casual, leaning against one arm of the couch. Hinoka reflected on the fact that any little shifts to the right or the left would adjust how much the robe covered, and -

“How did your game go?” Camilla asked, nonchalantly.

“Oh! Uh, fine,” Hinoka recovered quickly. _Stop thinking those things!_ “We won, but they had to call it early because of the rain.”

Camilla hummed. “I trust you did better than the last time I watched you play?” she teased.

“Hey!” Hinoka said, slightly offended. “I did fine, I’ll have you know! Though I did get hit by a pitch right at the end…”

“Did you?” Camilla asked, genuine concern in her voice. “Was it bad?”

Hinoka sat up straighter and pulled her collar down over her shoulder, showing her bruise.

“Oh, you poor baby!” Camilla cooed, leaning over and getting, in Hinoka’s view, uncomfortably close.

“It’s not that bad!” Hinoka assured her, adjusting her sleeve back. “It mostly just hurts, but it’s a superficial wound!”

“Let me take a look!” Camilla said, tugging her sleeve back down and gripping her arm. This close, Hinoka could feel the warmth of Camilla’s body. Camilla’s hands felt soft and gentle as she slowly looked over Hinoka’s shoulder.

“It’s just a bruise,” Hinoka mumbled, sounding like a petulant child. “I’m fine. I took some painkillers so I-Agh!”

She felt a jolt of pain as Camilla pressed a single firm finger into the sensitive flesh.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Checking to make sure it isn’t anything more serious,” Camilla responded. “I do have some basic first aid experience, so…” she put another hand on Hinoka’s back.

“I-uh-um-I…laundry!” Hinoka stuttered, getting up quickly. “I’m going to go check on the laundry! I think I heard the washing machine!” She quickly stepped out of the room, feeling Camilla’s stare boring holes in her back.

As Hinoka shoveled the wet clothes from the washing machine into the dryer, she quietly chastised herself. “Stop being so weird!” she said out loud, voice barely a whisper. “You’re making everything a million times more awkward!” She ended the sentence just as she pulled Camilla’s underwear out of the washing machine, groaning at the coincidence.

She slammed the dryer’s door shut and made her way back to the living room, stopping to stare at the visitor sitting on her couch.

Camilla flipped a curl of damp hair over her shoulder and leaned forward, quietly poring over the living room. Her eyes bounced from one thing to another – the cluttered bookcase jam-packed with cheap paperback novels and schoolbooks, the old and well-worn kotatsu in front of the couch, the tv…remembering the beautiful décor of Camilla’s house, Hinoka suddenly felt a little embarrassed. The apartment was small and plain, but it was nice, right?

“What’s this?” Camilla said, gesturing at the kotatsu. “Your table has…blankets?”

“Oh! That’s a kotatsu!” Hinoka explained, sitting back down on the couch. “It’s a low table covered with a blanket, and look!” Excitedly, Hinoka lifted one of the corners, showing the underside of the table. “It’s got a heater underneath to keep it warm! Not really necessary in the summer, but it’s great when it gets colder. We don’t really have great heat or air conditioning here, so it’s really nice to have.”

“Interesting,” Camilla said, prodding the blanket. “I have to say, between the rain and the robe, I’m actually a bit chilly myself. Do you mind if I try?”

“Of course not!” Hinoka nodded. “I won’t turn the heater on because that’d be far too warm, but you’re welcome to give it a shot.”

Camilla slid off the couch and under the kotatsu’s blanket folding her legs and tucking her lower half underneath. “Oh, my! It’s quite toasty. Care to join me?”

Hinoka giggled quietly. “Why not?” She sat next to Camilla, adjusting her legs.

“Oh, I, uh – I wanted to thank you,” Hinoka said, wrapping her hands around her mug of tea. “I had a great time the other night.”

“Me too,” Camilla assured her. “I’d love to do it again. Unfortunately I have games the next few nights, but we can see after that?”

“I’d love that,” Hinoka smiled. She shifted, and under the blanket she could feel her leg brush against Camilla’s. Her leg felt smooth and cool. Hinoka looked nervously at Camilla, whose hands were under the kotatsu but whose gaze was looking off at a framed picture on the wall.

“Who’s that?” Camilla asked, nodding at the photograph.

“Oh, that’s us!” Hinoka said, glad to not be thinking about legs. “That’s from a few years ago. That’s me, Ryoma, Takumi, and Sakura there in the front. The woman with dark hair in the back is mom, and the slim girl with blue hair is Azura.”

“Azura?”

Hinoka nodded. “Yeah, she’s sort of…a half-sibling, I guess? Mom kind of unofficially adopted her after she had some family troubles. She’s off at college now.”

“I know,” Camilla nodded. “She was with Corrin when we went to visit last time.”

“Oh, really?” Hinoka asked, surprised.

“Mmhm.” Camilla took another sip of her tea. “I think they’re dating, judging by how the two were looking at each other and talking.”

Hinoka laughed. “You good at detecting that sort of thing?”

“Oh, I like to think I’m pretty…adept at understanding people’s feelings,” Camilla said confidently.

“Really?” Hinoka smirked. “A mind reader, huh?”

“I maybe wouldn’t go that far, but…”

Hinoka scooted closer, smiling mockingly. “What am I thinking, then?”

“Hm…” Camilla leaned her face in, towards Hinoka’s. She brushed her lavender bangs out and stared into Hinoka’s eyes.

Hinoka suddenly felt her heart beating very quickly, and very loudly. _Gods, I hope Camilla can’t hear that._ She stared back at Camilla, wishing she hadn’t said anything.

Camilla leaned over, and Hinoka watched as her robe slipped open slightly, a deep V of fabric extending down her chest and terminating in her midsection. Camilla placed on hand on the ground next to Hinoka and the other on the table, leaning over top, very close to her face.

Hinoka lifted a hand and draped it loosely over Camilla’s side. She could feel her breath. She parted her lips, trying to surreptitiously lick them to moisten them. She stared at Camilla’s lips, soft and full, opening slightly. She tilted her head, trying to line up as best she could, fingers grasping at the fabric of Camilla’s robe, gingerly pressing into the skin underneath. Camilla leaned forward slowly –

_SLAM!_ The front door whipped open, a gust of wind and rain bursting in. Thunder crackled in the sky.

Takumi stomped in, sloshing rain in from off the porch. “Gods, its rainy! Sakura, make sure you leave your shoes at the door!”

Sakura slipped in behind him, folding up a light pink umbrella. Even with the umbrella, her pink hair was still damp and sticking to her head. She helped Takumi pull his hair out of a wet ponytail, and he shook his head. Takumi looked up and suddenly noticed Hinoka in the living room.

“Hey, Big Sis! How’d the game g-“ He paused, frowning. “Who’s that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, this chapter ended up being eighteen million years late! I ended up writing a bunch of other stuff in the mean time but finally want to get back to this (especially after finishing my last fic, which was...quite different from this one). Anyway, updates should resume now! Sorry about how long the update's taken. 
> 
> As usual, thanks for reading and thanks for all the great feedback I have gotten in the interim!


	8. Chapter 8

 

With a _CRACK!_ the red-haired batter sent a ball flying back in the direction of the pitching machine that had fired it.

“Then what happened?” she asked casually, not breaking concentration on her practice batting. “So her…siblings came home?”

Camilla leaned against the backstop, nodding. “Oh, gods, it was so embarrassing! Even thinking about it now I just want to die!”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” the batter said, sending another ball flying into the outfield.

“Selena, I think dramatic is all she knows how to be.” Another player decked out in the standard black uniform adjusted her headband and brushed back her short blue hair.

“Please, Beruka, be serious,” Camilla chided.

“Okay, okay,” Selena readied herself for another hit. “What happened next? Like…they didn’t _see_ anything, right?” She took a practice swing slowly, then waited for the machine to spit out another ball.

_CRACK!_

“She and I both just sort of…rolled away from each other and she began making excuses and sort of babbling embarrassingly…it was actually pretty cute, but it just made the whole situation _so_ much more…”

“Incriminating?” Beruka offered.

Camilla sighed and sat down in the dirt, leaning against the backstop. “The two younger ones just went upstairs and hid in their rooms until the laundry was done, and then she lent me an umbrella.”

“So that’s it?” Selena dropped her bat into the dirt and sat next to Camilla. “That doesn’t seem too bad.”

“I guess telling it like that, it seems so silly to worry…”

“I’m sure it was worse in person,” Beruka said flatly. “I’ll be right back.” She began to circle around the field, collecting the scattered balls that Selena had batted.

“So who is this girl, anyway?” Selena asked. “She seemed kinda familiar at the restaurant, but I didn’t get a great look at her.”

“She’s, uh…” Camilla looked away and began to scratch at the dirt absentmindedly. “She’s a family friend. My…brother’s boyfriend’s sister.”

“Jeez, that’s quite the relation. When are we gonna meet her?” From her sitting position, Selena threw a ball into the sky and watched its arc curve down – directly into Beruka’s glove. Beruka threw it back, a straight fastball from third base, and Selena caught it with a _whump!_

“Oh, I’m not sure if –“

“What, don’t think she’ll like us?” Selena eyed her. “Hold on – are you blushing?”

“Wh-no, of course not!” Camilla protested, blushing.

“Hahaha! Oh, gods, you must _really_ like this girl, huh?” She jabbed Camilla’s ribcage, laughing.

“Stop it!” Camilla pushed her away. “It’s not like that!”

“Then what’s it like, huh? You’ve been dating for…for what, a few weeks? You haven’t introduced her to Beruka and I, you haven’t brought her home – well, except that one time – what gives?”

Camilla sighed and slumped backwards. “It’s…complicated.”

Selena leaned forward and gave her a serious look. “What’s the issue? You know Beruka and I will still be your best friends regardless, right?”

“Promise?” Camilla looked at her, dark eyes betraying a thin layer of worry.

“Of course,” Selena nodded. She leaned back and threw another long pass to Beruka, who was on her way back from gathering baseballs.

“She’s…” Camilla hesitated. “She’s…um…” then very quietly: “She’s Hoshido’s pitcher.”

Selena froze. “W-what?!”

 

-

 

Hinoka lay on her back in bed, arms extended upwards, lazily tapping away on her phone. The day’s game had gone well, though her shoulder still ached from her injury. Stretching her arm felt good, even if her pose did look a little ridiculous. She dropped one hand to her brow and brushed her bangs aside, squinting at the bright screen in the dim bedroom. Outside, a gentle rain pattered against the windows. Her phone buzzed.

 

_Hey! How’d the game go?_

 

It was Camilla. Hinoka smiled. She seemed to want to put on an air of aloofness and charm, but Camilla sure was excited to text her whenever possible. She tapped out her own message.

 

_Fine! Finished up 6-4 us._

_Congrats! This means you’re moving up in the championship bracket, right?_

_Yep! :)_

_Very exciting! Did your shoulder give you much trouble?_

_Not too bad. I had to ice it after the game, but it seems like it’s healing pretty nicely. With any luck itll be mostly healed by the time we go up against a REAL team._

_Well, if you ever need a massage, be sure to let me know ;)_

Hinoka giggled and rolled over, hugging a pillow as she texted back and forth with Camilla. It had become sort of a daily routine, and she enjoyed spending evenings just chatting. It was nice, even if Camilla was often scant about details regarding her personal life. Hinoka had tried asking how her day went a few times, or asking about work, but Camilla often gave short and nondescript answers, never specifying.

She knew that that nature of Camilla’s work – well, her _real_ job – meant she dealt with secrecy quite a bit, and often had to make tough decisions. It felt like Camilla wasn’t ready to let her in to that part of her life yet. Which was fine by Hinoka. She didn’t care much for all that serious talk anyway. Her phone buzzed.

_Hey, any interest in going to a party?_

Hinoka stared at the message.

 

_What kind?_

 

_A house party. Drinking, dancing, that sort of thing._

_Oh? I didn’t take you for the partying type._

_It started off as a work thing, but a bunch of people are coming. I figured it’d be a good chance for you to meet some of my friends!_

Hinoka frowned.

_I don’t know about that. I haven’t been to a party in forever._

_Oh, it’ll be fun! I promise. It’s at my house anyway and there’s going to be a lot of people. So im sure we could get a little private time ;)_

Hinoka’s heart skipped. What kind of private time was she thinking?

 

_I dunno. I’ll think about it. When is it?_

_This weekend, after our game on Saturday. It starts at nine but you’d be welcome to come earlier. Though I will be busy with preparations, so maybe not._

_Did Xander invite Ryoma?_

_I believe so. Didn’t he tell you?_

_First I’m hearing about it._

_Hm. Well, give it some thought! I’ve got a big game tomorrow, so I’m going to sleep._

_Goodnight and good luck! Let me know how it goes!_

_Of course! Goodnight, darling. :)_

Hinoka snapped her phone shut and dropped it off the edge of the bed, letting it swing on its charger cord. _A party? Friends? What kind of friends does someone like Camilla have?_

In her mind she tried to put it together. Probably a bunch of rich people, right? Like…Camilla’s family is loaded, and if it was a work party I’m sure everyone else is too. They’re probably all going to be wearing suits and fancy dresses, and… _Shit! I’ll have to ask her what the dress code is._

 

-

 

The week seemed to go agonizingly slowly. The few games Hinoka played went well, netting them two more wins. Her shoulder continued to be a little bothersome, but never so much that it affected her playing. She and Camilla continued chatting, and she eventually decided – against her better judgement – that the party was a good idea. Ryoma was going to drive her, and so before long Hinoka found herself in the passenger seat of Ryoma’s car, idly fidgeting with the locks, clicking them up and down, waiting for Ryoma to come out of their apartment.

As Camilla recommended she was dressed somewhat casually in jean shorts and a flowy blouse. Much to her relief, it wasn’t a formal business party as she imagined, but more in line with the sort of parties the baseball team threw periodically. Casual dress, lots of food and drink, and a general vibe of laid-back friendliness.

Or so Camilla promised.

“You’ll break the locks if you keep doing that,” Ryoma said, opening the driver-side door and sliding into his seat.

“Sorry. I’m just a little nervous.”

Ryoma was dressed more formally, slacks and a dark jacket overtop a button-down shirt. He and Xander were in fact not intending the party, but going out on their own for something or other. Hinoka rested her hands in her lap, pointedly trying not to mess with anything.

“You’re not staying out all night, right?” she asked as he revved the engine. It turned once, twice, and on the third try it started.

“I told you, I’ll drop you off, pick him up, and then we’ll be back later for me to take you home.” Ryoma wiggled the car out from its parking spot on the curb and plunged into the evening city traffic. “I’m surprised you don’t _want_ to stay over.”

Hinoka coughed, surprised by her brother’s forthrightness. “I…uh…well, you know…it’d be weird, and-“

Ryoma laughed. “Look, I get it. But be open to seeing where the evening takes you. I can always come back and pick you up in the morning.”

Hinoka blushed. “I…okay.” She stared out the window, reading street signs as they passed to try and fill her mind up with thoughts other than staying the night with Camilla.

It was a hot evening, so the cool breeze through the car window felt nice, ruffling Hinoka’s still-damp hair. She felt fresh and renewed, having spent the better part of the evening preparing for the event. Their game had ended early, fortunately, which gave Hinoka time to go through some proper clean-up: stretching, a long bath, doing her makeup for once, actually styling her hair rather than her usual strategy of letting it flop where it may…

She sighed. She needed to keep reminding herself that Camilla promised it would be a fun evening. It wouldn’t be weird. Probably.

The drive out of the city was pleasant enough, but Hinoka couldn’t shake the nervous feeling bubbling in her stomach. _Why am I so nervous? We’ve been on dates before. This isn’t a big deal._

“You’re awfully quiet,” Ryoma remarked suddenly, breaking the silence.

“Sorry, I’m just a little nervous. You know how awkward I can be.”

Ryoma chuckled. “You make it so much worse by being worried. What are you overthinking this time?”

Hinoka fidgeted with her purse nervously. “I dunno. Camilla wants me to meet a bunch of her friends. And I figure some of them are on her baseball team, right? Doesn’t that make us enemies?”

“I don’t think so,” Ryoma shook his head, smiling. “On the field, sure, but off the field you’re all just people.”

“I don’t know about that. I mean, _I_ agree but I’ve seen some of those Nohr players. They seem a little…”

“Aggressive? I don’t know anyone like that,” Ryoma smirked.

Hinoka playfully swiped his shoulder. “Hey! I’m not – “ she caught herself. “Dammit.”

Ryoma laughed as she pouted.

“Fine,” Hinoka said, crossing her arms.

As they began nearing Camilla’s house, the street became more crowded, cars parked here and there along the sidewalk. At long last they reached the house itself, the driveway packed with an odd assortment of vehicles. A dirt bike leaned against the side of the house, and a beat-up convertible sports car sat in the lawn, tracks of mud smudged through the finely manicured grass. Even from the outside, they could hear music pulsing. A few stragglers stood out on the porch, smoking and taking sips from plastic cups.

Hinoka and Ryoma turned and stared at each other. Ryoma shrugged sheepishly.

“I’m gonna…uh…” Hinoka began to dig through her purse frantically. “I’m gonna text Camilla and tell her to come out and meet me, I guess.” Before she got the chance she looked up and saw Xander exiting the front of the house, dressed in a slick black blazer. He deftly navigated past the porch-dwelling partygoers, sidled between parked cars, and slid up to their car.

Ryoma nodded and gave a mock-salute. He turned to Hinoka. “I guess this means you have to go.”

Hinoka sighed and slid out of the car, offering a quiet greeting to Xander as she slipped past him. She watched as Ryoma pulled the car out of the driveway, the two men smiling and laughing. She took a deep breath.

As if the massive house wasn’t intimidating enough, the cluster of partygoers gave her strange looks. One girl leaned in close and said something to another, who nodded. Hinoka fumbled in her purse for her cell phone, intensely aware of gazes boring holes in her head. She tried to ignore it.

She kept her eyes fixed on her phone as she walked towards the house, her steps slow and measured. She crossed the walkway up to the house and past the smokers, catching a surprisingly calming whiff of cigarette smoke. She inhaled deeply through her nose, walking the thin line between indulgence and self-discipline.

“Can I help you?” a stern voice cut through her thoughts. She looked up to see a pair of girls, one with blue hair and a bandana and another with dark red twintails. They both definitely looked familiar. The redhead spoke up again.

“You okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” Hinoka gestured weakly. “Um…Camilla invited me? Do you know where she is?”

The girl took a sip from her plastic cup and nodded. “She’s inside,” she said, gesturing to the front door. The blue-haired girl said nothing, her gaze fixed and glowering. _What’s her deal?_ Hinoka wondered.

“T-thanks,” Hinoka offered a faint smile. Even before she pulled the front door open, a blast of music seeped through the cracks in the doorway, almost pushing the door from within. Heavy bass rumbled the doorframe and the cacophonous sound of conversation spilled into the night air. Hinoka slipped in and pulled the door shut behind her.

_Oh._ She realized that it was _this_ kind of party.

The music blasted from a large amplifier and speaker system someone had set up in one corner of the living room. Cords trailed across the floor, snaking between the feet of partygoers moving around, shuffling their feet, dancing, chatting, and whirling in a motion of light and color. Hinoka leaned back against the door and surveyed the scene. There certainly seemed to be a lot of drinks, with almost everyone holding something or another, from plastic cups to cans of beer to quickly emptying bottles. There also appeared to be a source of snacks somewhere, as a few people milled about munching on pretzels or chips.

Talk and laughter almost matched the music in volume, the sheer intensity of socialization filling the room and spinning Hinoka’s mind. She had been to parties like this, of course, but…not quite like this. The extravagant locale, the densely packed crowd…it was a lot to take in.

“Oh, Hinoka! You made it!” Camilla shouldered her way past a few dancers, lifting a plastic cup up above the danger zone of jostling bodies. “I’m so glad you could come! Come, come! I want to introduce you to some people!”

“Of…course,” Hinoka said, still unsure. Camilla draped an arm around her and pulled her forward, leading her through the crowd. She was dressed in a Camilla classic – a tight black party dress that left startlingly little to the imagination. She somehow navigated the floor in tall black heels, not stumbling once as she led Hinoka, weaving through people.

“This is…a lot!” Hinoka shouted over the din of the music and crowd. “I thought you said it was a work thing!”

Camilla laughed and took a long drink out of her cup. “Well, it started off like that, but then we had a killer game today and wanted to celebrate, and then Keaton said he was going to bring a few kegs, and…well, you know how it goes!”

_I really don’t,_ Hinoka’s eyes darted wildly, trying to map out their way through the house. She had been in this house before, but in this context it was a wild maze, a labyrinth of light and sound and bodies. Camilla pulled her to the side, one arm still wrapped around her shoulders, the other gesturing into the crowd with her cup.

“That’s Keaton over there pouring drinks. I believe you two have met?”

Hinoka nodded. “Yeah, he’s that bartender.”

“Let’s get you something to drink, shall we?” Camilla veered off towards Keaton, Hinoka in tow, still trying to gather her scattered thoughts.

“Hey, baseball lady!” Keaton smiled brightly, looking up from a drink he was pouring. “Glad ya could make it! What can I get you?”

“Um, I-“ Hinoka began to ask for something light before being cut off.

“Hinoka’s just arrived,” Camilla said, somewhat conspiratorially. “Something to bring her up to speed would be appreciated.”

Keaton smiled and nodded. “Shots, then?”

Hinoka shook her head. “No thank you! Just a beer is fine!”

Camilla and Keaton both laughed and he poured out a plastic cup full of dark beer from a keg. Hinoka sipped it nervously as Camilla continued to lead her around the party, gesturing at various people.

“That grey-haired man in the corner over there is Laslow. He works for Xander.”

Laslow caught her gesture and waved back, winking at Hinoka. The girl next to him, a slender girl with cotton-candy dyed hair glared at him and smacked him.

Camilla laughed. “His date, the lovely Peri, plays third base.” She took a sip from her cup. Hinoka caught a whiff of what she began to suspect was pure whiskey.

“Those girls in the corner are my two best friends in the whole world, Selena and Beruka. They seem to be occupied at the moment, but I’m sure we can introduce you later.”

Hinoka immediately recognized the girls from the front porch. The blue-haired one was currently holding the red-haired one back, preventing her from physically assaulting another partygoer. She looked furious. Hinoka took a sip and gave Camilla a nervous look.

“Oh, they do it all the time. Selena can be quite the firebrand.”

“I’ve noticed,” Hinoka said, wincing as Selena’s foot connected with the man’s groin. Camilla looked at Hinoka and smiled.

“You…you do know all these people, right, Camilla?”

Camilla took another sip from her cup, shrugging slightly. “Oh!” she said, interrupting her drink. “Oh, let’s go say hello to Charlotte!”

Camilla, arm wrapped tightly around Hinoka’s shoulder, walked her through the dance floor and introduced her to a number of partygoers, from the hulking but surprisingly gentle Benny to the happy-go-lucky Arthur. Camilla admitted that most of the people here worked for her father, but she only really knew a handful of them. And of those, most of the women played on the baseball team.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” Camilla asked, looking mournfully into her finally-empty cup. She tipped it over, as if expecting more to appear. A few drops trailed out. “More drinks first, though.”

“Yeah, food would be great,” Hinoka said, the alcohol starting to build up a comfortable layer of fuzz in her mind.

The two picked up drinks before navigating to the kitchen, a quieter place set with an elegant spread of hors d’oeuvres. Well, once-elegant. The platters of sliced meats and cheeses were all but demolished and had given way to half-emptied bags of chips, pretzels, and various cheese-flavored puffs. Hinoka snagged a handful of pretzels and one of the few remaining crescent-roll-wrapped mini-sausages and began to idly munch as she and Camilla chatted.

“Sorry, I know it’s all a lot to take in at once, but…” Camilla began, poking explorative fingers at a tray of celery sticks.

“Ith okay!” Hinoka protested through a mouthful of pretzel. She swallowed.  “I just haven’t been to this sort of party in forever, and didn’t really know what to expect.”

Camilla nodded, taking a long drink from her cup, which Hinoka confirmed had indeed been filled with pure, unadulterated liquor.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You seem a little off.”

Camilla let out a sigh. “It’s a lot of work trying to organize these things. I’m glad everyone seems to be having a good time, but at the same time I can’t let go of the ‘party-mom’ attitude. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you came, dear,” Camilla smiled, a warm and genuine smile. She wrapped her free hand in Hinoka’s, entwining their fingers tightly. Hinoka smiled back.

“Well,” Camilla began, trying to dispel the atmosphere as a drunken partier stumbled into the kitchen seeking nourishment. “Shall we dance?”

Before Hinoka could protest, Camilla has whisked her away, out back to the main room and into the frenzy of dancers.

Hinoka knew she wasn’t much for dancing – despite her natural athleticism, she usually worked primarily off energy, not grace. So dancing with someone like Camilla, someone who just exuded elegance and style, made her feel like even more of a sore thumb. She did her best, though, and soon enough she lost her anxiety in a haze of liquor and sweat, of pulsing music and gyrating bodies. Camilla was close, alarmingly close. Hinoka could feel their bodies pressed together, the warmth of Camilla’s skin flush against her, the lavender swirls of Camilla’s hair spinning in a halo around her. Time and time again, their faces pressed together, closer and closer. Hinoka could smell cheap liquor on her breath and gulped. Camilla pulled her closer, her hands wandering up and down Hinoka’s body, clutching her hips and stroking her lower back. Hinoka suddenly felt dizzy, her head heavy and her stomach twisting into knots. A familiar feeling began to build in her abdomen, a coiling of energy and warmth compelling her to cling to Camilla, to touch her and hold her, their arms entwined in a flurry of music and motion. She lifted her head, staring into Camilla’s dark eyes, eyes so often stern and callous now deep and inviting. Hinoka leaned in closer, her lips parting as Camilla bent down towards her. She could feel Camilla’s breathing speed up, her pulse quickening. Hinoka’s own heartbeat felt like thunder in her ears, drowning out the music and the conversations around them. Closer. Closer.

Camilla’s phone buzzed. She pulled it out and stared at it, her face suddenly darkening.

“Is everything alright?” Hinoka asked, concern pulling her out of her haze.

Camilla nodded grimly. “I need to make a quick phone call.”

“Okay! Don’t be gone too long!” Hinoka teased. “I was just starting to enjoy myself!”

Camilla nodded, her brow furrowed, and she began to exit the dance floor.

“Wait!” Hinoka dashed after her. She grasped her wrist. “Is there…uh…is there a bathroom I can use?”

Camilla nodded, giving a polite smile. “Of course, darling. Upstairs, down the hall, last door on the right.”

Even climbing the stairs proved to be a bit of a challenge. Moving two feet through her alcohol-riddled funk was tough, sure, but throwing another elevation in the mix made it nigh-impossible. She clutched the railing as she climbed, taking deep breaths and trying to reign in her spinning head. _How much have I drank? D…rank? Drunk? Drinked? What’s the right word?”_ she stumbled onto the landing at the top of the stairs and began to lurch down the hallway. She belched softly and giggled.

_Camilla’s so pretty._ _I hope she asks me to stay the night._ I _really love her a lot. Wait! Can I say that? How long have we been dating? Is that weird?!_ Hinoka’s thoughts leapt from one subject to another. She smiled, deciding that drunk-Hinoka didn’t care.

She pulled a door open and stepped inside.

“Odin Dark knows no fear! Unquenchable blood flames!” cried out a voice, to the sound of plastic clattering on wood.

“That’s a…seventeen. That beats his armor class. Roll damage.”

Hinoka stared down. This wasn’t the bathroom.

Three teenage boys sat huddled around a table stacked high with books, manuals, and sheets of loose-leaf paper. A few empty cans of beer and soda sat scattered around them. One boy had a dramatic red and black cape draped over his shoulders. He had struck a pose and evidently just rolled a set of dice. Another, a frail-looking boy with whitish hair smirked at him. “You know I’m just gonna try to fuck the goblin if you don’t kill it, right?”

The third boy, whom Hinoka recognized as Leo, looked up, peering over the top of a cardboard screen emblazoned with dragons and knights. He brushed his hair back, disentangling a black headband.

“Niles, you’re already in combat. It doesn’t work that way.” He noticed Hinoka standing in the doorway, watching. “Do you need something?”

“I…uh…I was…bathroom?” Hinoka asked.

Leo, expressionless, pointed. “Next door.”

Hinoka nodded and bowed out, shutting the door behind her.

 

“Hey, is it okay that your younger brother is drinking beer?” Hinoka asked Camilla as she re-entered the party.

Camilla nodded. “We figured if he’s going to do it, it might as well be at home, right? Besides, I think it’s mostly Niles that drinks. Leo and Odin both stick with sugary drinks.”

“What was up with that phone call?”

“It was…” Camilla said, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

“Okay,” Hinoka said, not wanting to push the subject. “Uh, hey, Camilla.”

“Hm?”

“I’m gonna level with you,” Hinoka began, after taking a sip of Dutch courage. “I’m pretty drunk right now, and you look super hot, and I kind of want to just make out with you. Is there somewhere we can do that?”

Camilla laughed, blushing. “Oh, my! My little Hinoka, being so forward!”

Hinoka blushed too, immediately taking another long drink and regretting saying anything. Which made it all the more surprising when she found herself being grabbed by the wrist and dragged back through the kitchen. The two emerged into the cool night air, screen door slamming shut behind them. The garden was dark and quiet, the only sound the muffled pounding of music from the house.

It was the same garden she had met Camilla in before, what now seemed so long ago.

Camilla sat her down on a wooden bench on the stone patio adjacent to the garden and before she even finished sitting down the two were lip-locked, hands clutching each other desperately. Hinoka would have gasped had her breath not been stifled by Camilla’s mouth pressed against hers, lips soft and moist, tongue brushing exploratively against Hinoka’s lips. She opened her mouth and let out a soft moan as Camilla slipped her tongue between her lips. Camilla lifted a hand up and grasped the back of Hinoka’s head, pressing them closer together. Her tongue brushed against Hinoka’s and she responded in kind, her tongue probing out into Camilla’s mouth, initial caution giving way to desperation and hunger.

“Mmph,” Hinoka mumbled, opening her eyes wide. “Mmph!” she pushed Camilla off her, gasping for breath. The two women sat staring at each other, eyes wild and chests heaving.

Hinoka grabbed Camilla and pushed her off the bench, laying her down on the patio and straddling her. They pressed their lips together again, both closing their eyes. Hinoka put both hands on Camilla’s shoulders, each hand clutching at her collar.

Camilla had other plans, it seemed, as she slid on hand around to cup the back of Hinoka’s shorts. The other slipped under Hinoka’s blouse and was pressed, fingers spread, against Hinoka’s stomach.

 Hinoka broke the kiss first, trailing her lips down Camilla’s cheek to her neck, where she sunk her teeth in. Camilla let out an encouraging gasp to which Hinoka responded with another bite. Camilla’s hand danced lightly on Hinoka’s stomach, her long fingers cautiously and slowly working up Hinoka’s stomach. Her fingertips lightly brushed the bottom of Hinoka’s bra and she retracted slightly, obviously wanting to go farther but not daring. Hinoka returned to her lips and they kissed again before she sat up, gasping for breath. She leaned heavily on Camilla, staring. The cool night air felt incredibly good on her flushed skin. She smiled, still somewhat dazed.

Camilla said nothing, her own eyes resting gently on Hinoka’s face – not staring so much as inhaling, drinking her in.

“A…aren’t you…w-worried someone will see us?” Hinoka asked, still catching her breath.

Camilla shrugged. “What are they going to do? It’s _my_ house.”

Hinoka nodded. She was unsure how long they ended up spending in the garden, but to her it felt like an eternity. An endless lifetime of passionate, hungry motion, a lifetime of tongues and lips and fingers and hands. Despite her demeanor, Camilla was surprisingly respectful, Hinoka noted. Checking before doing anything, no hands snuck anywhere Hinoka didn’t want them, no presumptions or assumptions for what Hinoka wanted nor what she was experienced with. The mood was, unfortunately, soured by the soft buzzing of a cellphone.

“Shit,” Camilla swore, wiping the saliva from her mouth and sitting up. “Fuck off.”

“Camilla?” Hinoka asked, concerned.

“I’m so sorry, I have to…” Camilla got to her feet and answered the phone angrily. “What, father? What do you want?”

Hinoka only caught snatches of the conversation as Camilla wandered off into the garden. Something about a sister – _Corrin, maybe?_ – and a great deal about some contract. Camilla vanished into the dark of the garden, leaving Hinoka alone on the patio. She leaned against the wall of the house, sighing.

“ _Fuck_ , I could go for a cigarette,” she muttered. A hand reached out in front of her, offering just what she requested. She jumped, startled.

“Shoulda asked for a million bucks,” said the figure, a young-looking girl dressed in all black. Hinoka nodded and took the cigarette, letting the girl light it for her. She was smartly dressed, though it wasn’t a subculture Hinoka really subscribed too. The black eyeliner and metal studs were a little much.

“You look a little young to be smoking,” Hinoka said, taking a long drag.

The girl glared. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m an adult. Fuck you.”

Hinoka shrugged and tapped out some ashes.

“My name’s Nyx. You’re Camilla’s new toy, eh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hinoka frowned.

“Oh, you know. She’s quite the…ah…” Nyx paused, tapping her foot. “What’s the girl version of a playboy?”

“A…playgirl?”

Nyx snickered, taking a drag off her own cigarette. “Doesn’t seem good for an athlete to smoke,” she remarked, staring into the garden.

“I…it’s…I know. It’s a shitty habit. I’m trying to quit.”

“Whoops, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Hinoka waved her off. “Listen, what were you saying about Camilla?”

The back door banged open and a man stuck his head out. “Oy, Nyx! Time's up, let's go!”

“Duty calls,” Nyx said, shrugging. She paused before going back into the house. “Just…be careful, kid.”

_Who is she calling kid?_ Hinoka rolled her cigarette around between her fingers.

“I’m so, so, sorry about that,” said Camilla, finally emerging from the garden. She was brushing her dress and adjusting it, their romp having sent her ensemble into a state of disarray.

“It’s fine,” Hinoka said softly, still mulling over the strange girl’s words. _Did Camilla tell them that I play for Hoshido?_

“I don’t know about you, but I could go for another drink. Shall we?” Camilla asked, gesturing back towards the door.

“Uh…sure. Just a sec.” Hinoka dropped her cigarette and crushed it under her foot, frowning. Something strange was happening, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “Are you sure you should be drinking? If your father-“

“My father can go *hic* fuck himself,” Camilla said defiantly. She opened the door and gestured for Hinoka to enter. “Ladies first,” she smiled.

As Hinoka crossed the threshold, she suddenly felt cold. Air conditioning? No, not that. Worry about Camilla? No, it wasn’t like that. A literal chill. Something cold and slimy dripped down her back, soaking into her blouse, drenching her hair. It felt cold and sticky. In a matter of seconds she was completely doused in something horrible, something you’d get from crossbreeding an energy drink and gasoline. In the second it took for her to sober up, she realized someone had dumped something on her. Two things, actually, since now her world was white, a miasma of fluttering white feathers. She stumbled and flailed, trying to stop the feathers from sticking to her.

She wiped her wet bangs out of her eyes, blinking through the sticky haze. The party had stopped, everyone staring at her. Selena stifled a giggle, covering her face with her hand. Peri on the other hand howled, an infectious cackle that sent the rest of the party into a uproar. “P-p-pegasus!” she managed to shout through her laughter.

Hinoka flicked her hands, trying to get the liquid off her. From the smell it appeared to be some sort of horrible drink, but at this point it didn’t really matter. She started picking feathers off her arm, first brushing then plucking one by one when she realized brushing didn’t work. She wiped her face again and turned to see Camilla.

“Camilla, wha-“ she stammered, before seeing Camilla stifle her own giggle. She held up her hand in front of her face but it was too late. She was laughing, too.

Hinoka felt tears flooding into her eyes, anger and sadness both waging a war across her face. She clenched her teeth and stormed through the party, furious.

“Oh, come on,” Selena called after her. “It was just a joke! It was a prank!”

“Oh,” Camilla called after her, too, following her trail of sticky footprints and shed feathers through the party. “Oh, Hinoka, don’t go! It was-“ she caught Hinoka’s sleeve.

She whipped around, one hand on the front doorknob. “It was _what_?” she hissed, trembling. Tears were trickling down her cheek and she didn’t know if it was from anger or embarrassment. “What was it?!”

“It was just a prank,” Peri said, stepping forward, wiping her eyes and stifling her laughter. “Come on, you need to chill out.”

“No!” Hinoka snapped. “Fuck you!” she pointed at Peri, then at Selena, then at Camilla. “Fuck you, fuck you. _Fuck! You!_ ” she pulled the front door open but Camilla stopped her.

“Hinoka, wait. Please, I didn’t-“

“You didn’t what?”

“I didn’t mean for-“ Camilla faltered, for the first time to Hinoka seeming out of place at the front of a crowd.

“Tell me, Camilla,” Hinoka growled. “Tell me you had nothing to do with this.”

“I…” Camilla stared at her. “I didn’t…”

“Tell me.”

“I didn’t think they were going to go this far,” she muttered.

“Fuck you,” Hinoka snapped. “We’re done. And you!” she said, turning to the crowd of silent partygoers, her voice somehow making up in intimidation what her feathered appearance lacked. “This isn’t fucking over. I’m going to kick your fucking asses. Don’t think you have a chance in hell at winning the tournament after this. We’re going to wipe the fucking floor with you.” She slammed the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, this one took forever! It's like double chapter length and has a lot going on, so hopefully that makes up for it? A bit? Anyway, sorry this fic isn't on anything even closely resembling a regular update schedule, but I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! As always, thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

“B-big sister?” Sakura asked nervously, leaning her head against Hinoka’s bedroom door. “Are you okay?”

It had been three days and they had scarcely seen hide nor hair of their big sister. Ryoma knew bits and pieces of the story from Xander, but that was a third-hand account: told by Camilla to Xander, then from Xander to Ryoma, so the accuracy could be suspect. At any rate, it seemed like Hinoka was newly single. Already.

“H-Hinoka?” Sakura asked again. “Um…Big brother Ryoma and I were out, and we wanted to g-get you something, so we picked up a pack of nicotine gum for you. I-I’ll just leave it on the floor out here, okay?” she bent over and set the pack of gum on the floor in front of Hinoka’s door. As she stood up, the door opened suddenly and Hinoka stuck her hand out, snatching the gum up.

Through the crack Sakura spied Hinoka – her hair was unkept and her face looked tired.

“Big sister?” Sakura asked, trying to poke her head into the door without getting any bits cut off by the inevitable slamming.

Hinoka grumbled and opened the door, begrudgingly letting Sakura into the darkened room.

The room was a mess, even more so than usual. The bed was stripped, Hinoka evidently sleeping in a cocoon of sheets piled up on the bare mattress. Her clothes sat in unwashed piles around the room, lightly seasoned with a sprinkling of empty chip bags and to-go sandwich wrappers. At least four ashtrays were scattered around the garbage. The whole room smelled like smoke.

The girl herself somehow looked worse than the room. Hinoka rubbed her eyes, a half-burnt cigarette in her fingers. She was almost naked, dressed in just her underwear and a ratty old tank top. She put the cigarette out and dropped it into an ashtray before tearing open the pack of gum and digging out a piece. She coughed.

“You missed practice yesterday,” Sakura said softly.

Hinoka nodded.

“And the day before.”

Hinoka again nodded. “Yeah.”

“Oboro called and said they aren’t going to let you play this weekend if you skip any more practices this week.”

That got a response.

“What?” Hinoka looked at her.

“T-they said they want you to go to practice tonight.”

 

-

 

It clearly paining her every step of the way, Hinoka begrudgingly got a shower and got dressed. She sat down heavily at the kitchen table, making a big show of moping.

Ryoma looked over his newspaper. “Well, well. Look who’s back from the dead.”

Hinoka groaned and laid her head on the table.

“You have a couple missed calls.”

“What?” Hinoka sat up as Ryoma slid her phone across the table. She had left it in his car and hadn’t been out to retrieve it since. She picked it up. It was still slightly sticky.

“It’s been buzzing all day for the past three days.”

Hinoka checked. _Missed calls – 247?! What?!_ She had a sneaking suspicion she knew the number before she even checked. And sure enough…

“She’s been by to see you, too.” Ryoma turned the page of his newspaper slowly. “A few times, actually.”

“What did you tell her?”

“The truth. That you didn’t want to see her.”

 Hinoka nodded. Missed texts, too. _Almost four hundred._ She hit ‘Delete All’ before snapping the phone shut again and setting it on the table. She got up and crossed to the fridge.

“We were going to go out tonight, if you’re feeling well enough to join us,” Ryoma suggested casually. “We thought you might want to get sushi after practice…”

Hinoka glared, peering up over the fridge door. “You planned this, didn’t you? This is all an elaborate ruse to get me to leave my room.”

Ryoma laughed. “You caught me. If anything could get you out of your funk, it’s probably baseball and sushi.”

Hinoka grumbled, as much annoyed by his schemes as the fact that they worked. She was up and showered, so she might as well do all this other shit, right?

“So…I’m not going to press you, but…”

“You want to know what happened?” Hinoka poured herself a glass of juice and sat down at the table.

Ryoma nodded. “I called your doctor, too, and set up an appointment for this weekend.”

“She’s a _therapist,_ not a doctor. As she is so quick to remind me.” Hinoka downed the juice in a single gulp before realizing how hungry she was for food with substance. She began rummaging around the cupboard. “Anyway, didn’t Xander tell you?”

“He said a bit. A prank that got out of hand is how he described it.”

Hinoka scoffed. She pulled down a box of cereal, squinted at it, then put it back. “Yeah, right.”

“So what _did_ happen?”

Hinoka sighed. “Some immature bullshit, I guess. I thought everything was going fine, but then…” she recounted the scene as she set to work preparing herself a sandwich.

 

-

 

“That’s the attitude I like to hear!” Scarlet smirked, pumping her fist. “Let’s kill ‘em!”

“Big talk is one thing, but you’ve skipped two practices,” Yukimura said unsympathetically. “If you really want to beat them, you’re going to have to work hard – no skipping practice, no phoning in your physical therapy when you get injured, no…cigarettes,” he said, glaring pointedly at Hinoka.

The women were lined up in the brick dugout, listening first to Hinoka’s triumphant return speech before listening to Yukimura’s actual coaching. Scarlet’s legs were crossed and her bat was laid across her legs. She was rewrapping the handle in a sparkly silver athletic tape.

“We don’t even have a plan to beat them, though. They’re still technically ahead,” said Rinkah soberly. “I’m all for crushing them but…well, they’re better.”

“For now,” said Hinoka, getting to her feet. “We have time, though. We win the next two games, we move on to the championships. We’re pretty much guaranteed to face Nohr there – they’ve gone undefeated so far. So…we just have to work hard.”

“What about…Camilla?” asked Setsuna, from the back. Reina reached over and pulled Setsuna’s cap up, which had been down over her eyes.

“What about her?” Hinoka asked flatly. “We’re gonna thrash her.”

“Well, that might be assault,” said Yukimura, poring over a clipboard. “At any rate, we’re starting with laps today. Everyone ready to run?

The usual chorus of groans was reenergized with cheers – god dammit, they’d even put up with running laps if it meant beating Nohr.

Practice went well, everyone trying to do their best. Hinoka had shared some of the story – not enough to implicate her, of course, nor admit she had briefly dated Camilla, but enough to show what vile scumbags those damned Nohrians were. Her story was mostly true – that she had been invited to a party at her brother’s boyfriend’s house, where she got very drunk then was pranked by the cruel and merciless Nohr players. That was correct.

She left out all of the making out bits.

At any rate, the story had done it’s job – it wasn’t just about winning the game anymore, it was about honor. It was about revenge for a wronged friend. And as the de facto captain, a blow against Hinoka was a blow against the whole team. As a result, everyone worked twice as hard. Even at the end of practice, everyone insisted staying longer to get in extra time – more time batting, more time throwing and catching, more time to work on plots and plans.

By the time they got out of practice, it was dark. Hinoka huffed and puffed as she biked home, her gear bag slung over her shoulder and her hair flapping wildly in her face.

She pulled up to a stoplight and braked, taking a moment to get a swig from her water bottle.

“That was one hell of a practice, eh?”

She turned. In the shadows under a shop awning stood a figure.

“Who…?”

The figure raised a finger to their lips. “Don’t worry about it.”

Hinoka stared. It almost seemed like the figure was semi-visible, shimmering in the dark. A trick of the light, no doubt, but an unnerving one at any rate.

The light turned green and Hinoka set her foot on her bike’s pedal.

“You want to beat Camilla, no?”

She stopped, turning back to the figure. She looked from the stoplight to the sidewalk and back again. A car behind her honked and she walked her bike up the curb. “Yeah? What’s it to you?”

The figure shrugged. “It shouldn’t matter to you. But I take your answer as a yes?”

“Of course. We’re going to beat Nohr.”

“Ahh, yes. I’m sure you will. But…would you like to ensure that victory?”

Hinoka suddenly felt incredibly nervous. A chill crept through her arms, raising goosebumps on her bare skin. Who was this person? “I don’t need your help.”

“Of course not,” the figure smiled. Their teeth were the only thing visible in the dark, a crescent of white pearls in the shadow. “But…just maybe…you’d like an edge?”

“What are you saying?” Hinoka rubbed her hand on the rubber grips of her bike’s handlebar.

“I’m saying…with a little cooperation, we could make sure Nohr loses. And that Camilla never plays again.”

“Are you…are you going to hurt her?” It went beyond nervousness now. Hinoka was scared. She felt for her cellphone.

“No, no. Of course not. But…you and I have a common interest. An interest in Camilla losing, and never playing baseball again. I think we can help each other.”

“Look, mister,” Hinoka gripped her bag tightly. “I think you need to go.”

The figure laughed, a hollow cackle. “You don’t have to decide now, my dear. Take my card.” A gloved hand reached out of the shadows, a small rectangle of white cardstock stuck between the first and middle fingers. Hinoka reached out cautiously and snatched the card.

It was almost entirely blank, except one word and a phone number.

“ _Iago_ ,” Hinoka whispered. “Shakespeare, huh?” she asked, looking up. The figure was gone, the dark shop front empty.

 _That was weird_. She put the card in her bag and shrugged.

 

-

 

“Hey, sorry I’m late!” Hinoka said, sliding into the booth next to Takumi.

“No problem. We haven’t even ordered yet,” Ryoma said, poring over the plastic laminated menu.

Hinoka read the menu over Takumi’s shoulder.

“How did practice go, big sister?” Sakura asked. She sat next to Ryoma, stirring the ice in her water with a straw.

“Fine! We ended up staying a bit longer than usual because the girls were so pumped up.”

“That’s good,” Ryoma said. “Looking forward to your game this weekend?”

Hinoka nodded. “Yeah. I think my shoulder’s finally back up to where it should be, even though it still aches if I twist it the wrong way.” She ordered a water when the waitress came.

“Oh, Takumi!” Hinoka remembered suddenly. “How did your archery tournament yesterday go?”

“Fine,” Takumi replied.

“Sorry I didn’t go,” Hinoka said somewhat guiltily. “I was-“

“I know,” he cut her off. “It’s fine.”

“It went more than fine!” Ryoma protested. “Our little brother came in first place! Even beat out that older boy. What did you say his name was?”

“Niles,” Takumi reminded him.

“Bit of a weird kid, but he seems nice enough,” Ryoma remarked.

Takumi shook his head. “He and his stupid friends are annoying. They’re constantly bothering me in the hallway, and Niles keeps saying weird things to me at practice to try and throw off my game.”

“Doesn’t sound like it worked, though!” Hinoka said brightly. “First place isn’t something to sneeze at.”

“Yeah,I guess.”

Hinoka looked at Ryoma, who shrugged. “And what about you, Sakura? How has your week been?”

“Good! Hana and I finished up our group presentation on feudal architecture, and ours was the best one in the class!” Sakura said proudly.

“I’m glad. I know you two worked hard on it,” Hinoka smiled. The waitress came again and took their orders.

“You seem like you’re feeling a lot better,” Ryoma nudged Hinoka as the waitress walked away. “Done being all moody?”

Hinoka scowled, but then her expression softened. “Yeah, actually. I think I really needed some time out of the house.”

Ryoma nodded. “I figured it would do you good. When you stay cooped up in your room, you just stew in your own misery and end up feeling worse.”

“Yeah. It’s amazing how much better I feel after just being cleaner and getting a chance to exercise.”

“I-if you don’t mind me asking…what are you going to do? About C-Camilla, I mean,” Sakura asked politely. “You two seemed really happy.”

Hinoka sighed. “Yeah…I don’t know. I don’t even know how much of it was her fault, but…I’m still pretty pissed off.”

Ryoma shot her a look.

“Sorry, I’m still _upset_ ,” she censored herself. “I figure I should eventually respond to her calls or texts, at any rate. Just to clear the air.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Ryoma said, leaning back to let the waitress serve their food. “If nothing else, you can get her to stop bothering us all the time.”

“Did she show up while I was at practice or something?”

“No, but Xander tells me she’s being insufferable.” He broke apart his wooden chopsticks and began poking exploratively at his sushi. He popped a roll into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Apparently she’s been in the same boat as you – pretty much just moping at home all the time.”

“Yeah, well – it’s not like she doesn’t deserve it. It’s her fault, after all.”

“Do you think you may have just…misinterpreted the situation again? If I recall, it’s happened with her before.” He smiled knowingly. 

Hinoka grumbled. “I dunno.” She began to hungrily shovel food into her mouth. She usually ate right after practice, but tonight – in addition to the longer practice – she had gone home, showered, changed, and met them at the restaurant. She was starving.

“Woah, slow down, there!” Ryoma said, surprised.

“You look like you haven’t eaten in three days,” Sakura joked quietly, drawing a round of low laughs from her siblings.

As Hinoka had said, it was just the night that she needed – a long, hard practice and then an enjoyable night out with her family. Even despite the dark cloud in the back of her mind, she let herself cool off and enjoy the evening. No matter what – despite pranks, breakups, lost games, or injuries – she would still have her family. And that was the most important thing, right?

She collapsed into her bed, smiling. Her room was still a mess, but she had opened the windows to air it out, and she felt the cool night breeze wash over her. She was stuffed and exhausted, which was objectively the best way to end an evening. She buried her head in her pillow and inhaled deeply.

Her phone buzzed.

Like a baseball through a plate glass window, the sound shattered her serenity and made her roll over, frowning.

It was a text.

She deleted it without reading it again and silenced her phone.

Hinoka closed her eyes and sighed. She pulled herself out of bed and began to sift through her room for her pajamas. She kicked some piles of laundry. She swiped an arm under her bed. No dice.

She lifted her baseball gear bag. A white card fluttered out of her bag, coming to rest on a balled-up sweatshirt.

She frowned and peered at the card.

_Iago._

She picked it up and turned it over in her hands, for some reason expecting more information to have materialized on the blank side. If nothing else, this was probably something Camilla deserved to know. _I guess it’s time to have that chat after all._

 

-

 

“So.”

“So,” Hinoka sighed, crossing her arms. She chewed an unlit cigarette, frowning. “We need to talk.”

It was a cool morning, foggy and damp. They were standing on a mezzanine overlooking an outdoor shopping area. The plaza, usually bustling with activity, was still and empty this morning. Camilla crumpled up a breakfast sandwich wrapper and put it in her purse.

“Yeah,” Camilla said softly. “Did you get my messages?”

“All six thousand of them? Yeah. I deleted them.”

Camilla looked genuinely hurt. “Hinoka, I’m so, so, so sorry. I had no idea they were going to take it that far.”

Hinoka shook her head and held a hand up. “Just…stop, okay? Let me say my piece.” She took a deep breath.

“I…that felt like shit, Camilla. It sucked. It was awful. And…I don’t know if there’s anything you can say to me to make it better. I wish there was, but…it takes so long to build trust. And you can lose it just like that. I know how you are, Camilla. And unfortunately, that means I just can’t trust anything you say.” She took the cigarette out of her mouth and put it back in her pack. “I don’t care what hand you had in it, okay? This isn’t about that.”

“It’s not?” Camilla asked, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“A man came to me the other day. Do you know the name Iago?” Hinoka asked, holding out the crumpled rectangle of cardstock.

Camilla took the paper and shook her head. “Shakespeare, right? Can’t say it’s a name I know.”

Hinoka nodded. “Yeah, from _Othello_. He…he offered me a deal. Said that he was interested in ensuring you never played baseball again.”

“What?” Camilla turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. He…he said he could make it so that Nohr lost. He didn’t say anything else, and I’ve been too scared to call the number.” Hinoka took the card back and put it in her back pocket. “I’m scared, Camilla. I…look, I don’t care about bullshit pranks or stupid rivalries. He scared me. It sounded like he wanted to hurt you.”

Camilla nodded thoughtfully. “Might be a codename.”

“That’s what I thought too. I just…I don’t know what to do,” Hinoka said, shivering. “It was so creepy. He just…sort of appeared out of nowhere. Disappeared like that, too.”

“Give me the number on the card. I’ll have Xander do some digging and see what we can turn up.”

“Okay. You…you don’t seem very fazed by this,” Hinoka remarked.

Camilla chuckled. “In my line of work, if you don’t have regular contact with shady businessmen using false names, you probably aren’t turning a profit.” She sighed and rested her arms on the railing, looking out at the dreary morning. “Um…thanks, Hinoka. Thank you for looking out for me.”

“Of course,” Hinoka replied, looking at her feet.

Neither of them moved or spoke for quite some time. The air between them felt tense, like a coiled spring. Hinoka nudged at a displaced chunk of cement with her shoe. Rain began dripping from the sky, occasional droplets soaking into the ground around them.

“Um…look. I know you don’t want to hear it, but I really am sorry for what happened to you.”

Hinoka said nothing.

Camilla sighed. “Selena said the girls wanted to play a prank on you, since you’re Hoshido’s star pitcher. I was busy with work for my father, so I said sure. I never would have thought it was something like that.”

Hinoka ground her teeth. She could feel the frustration building again. “Yeah,” she muttered.

“No, I’m serious. If I had known they were going to go that far, I would have never let it happen. I’m truly, truly sorry, and if there’s _anything_ I can do-“

Hinoka held up a hand. “Camilla…look. I know you’re sorry. I know you’re a woman who wears her heart on her sleeve, for better and for worse. But I need you to know that…I…this isn’t something I can let go of that easily, okay? I know I’m probably being stupid about it, but…you can’t expect forgiveness this soon.”

Camilla nodded dejectedly. “No, I understand.”

“I…I want to forgive you. I just can’t. Not yet.” Hinoka smiled and nudged her. “Come on, don’t look like that. It’s not like it’s the end of the world.”

Camilla sniffed, trying to subtly wipe a tear from her eye.

“Aw…hey, come on. Don’t cry,” Hinoka whispered, taking her arm.

Camilla pouted through her sniffles. “Then…Will you go out with me?”

Hinoka laughed. “Come on, I’m being serious here.”

Camilla nodded, wiping her eyes. “Me too. I…it’s been a long time since I’ve felt…as much as I have felt for you.”

Hinoka nodded silently. It was true for her as well, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to admit it right now.

“I understand, though. I need to regain your trust. And I promise I will, somehow.” Camilla smiled. She took Hinoka’s hand and squeezed it.

Hinoka smiled. “Okay.” She slipped her hand out of Camilla’s grasp and walked off, her shoes squeaking on the damp mezzanine floor.

“Hey, Hinoka,” Camilla called after her as she walked off.

Hinoka turned, shaking droplets of rain from her hair.

“If Nohr wins the championships…” Camilla grinned, her face smug and self-satisfied. “You owe me another date.”

Hinoka shook her head and continued walking, a bemused smile creeping across her face. “We’ll see,” she called behind her.


	10. Chapter 10

Camilla paced back and forth nervously, her tights-clad feet shuffling on the carpet. Her mind raced a mile a minute, shuffling through facts and ideas, trying to connect the disparate things that she knew with things she suspected.

“Camilla?” there was a knock at the door.

She ran her hands through her hair and adjusted her bangs, trying to not look as frantic and anxious as she truly was. She opened the door and smiled at Xander, hoping he couldn’t hear the beating of her heart, which to her sounded like the drumming of a machine gun.

“Yes, dear brother?” She said warmly.

“Are you ready to go?” Xander asked sternly. “It doesn’t even look like you’re finished getting dressed!”

“I’m not going,” Camilla bowed slightly. She shut the door.

“We need to be at the train station in half an hour!” Xander reminded her through the door. Then it hit him. “Wait, what? What do you mean?!”

Camilla poked her head out the door again, putting on lipstick.

He peered at her. “What are you so dressed up for? We’re just picking Corrin up. I know you’re excited, but-“

Camilla shook her head, smacking her lips and putting her lipstick away. “I told you, I’m not going. Father wants to see me.”

“Father? Why?” Xander tilted his head slightly.

“I think I know, but…” Camilla pursed her lips. “Go on, go without me. I’ll see you all later.” She shut the door again. Xander sighed walked away, knowing any protesting was hopeless.

Camilla stopped in front of the full-length mirror propped in the corner of her room and brushed her hair. Fortunately, the bangs would help cover up the bags under the eyes. Since she had met with Hinoka the other day, sleep had been hard to come by. And for once, it wasn’t thoughts the fiery redhead that were keeping her awake at night.

Xander had done some digging, as requested, but failed to turn up any information. No one at their father’s company had that name – well, not as a given name, at any rate. The number was hooked up to a voicemail box, so that was a bust too. With just a pseudonym and a phone number to go by, they had failed to turn up any information at all. Camilla pulled on a pair of black heels. She was going to take a cab, rather than her bike – Father always hated how she showed up disheveled after cruising through the streets at sixty miles an hour.

She checked her phone, knowing that she had no calls or messages. The LED screen blinked the time at her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Her cab pulled in front of the house and she climbed in the back, eyes veiled with a stylish pair of black sunglasses. The whole drive she was too nervous to chat with the driver, even though she was usually so bubbly and talkative. She fussed with her cuffs, straightened her skirt, fidgeted with her phone, and checked and re-checked her makeup in a compact mirror. It was a warm morning, hazy and humid, the sky a fuzzy blue speckled with puffy white clouds. She stared out the window at the buildings passing by – office buildings, cafes, restaurants, banks– it was a route she knew by heart, but today she couldn’t shake the feeling that each mile that passed was a step closer to something terrible. They turned onto the main thoroughfare through the financial sector of the city – Garon wouldn’t settle for anything but the most elegant offices, of course.

“Here you are, ma’am,” the driver said, startling her from her thoughts. She almost jumped at the voice.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling. She paid cash and stepped out of the cab onto the street. Her heels clicked on the stone sidewalk as she approached the glass double-doors. She looked up.

It was a massive, imposing building, the words _WINDMIRE TOWER_ emblazoned in a gaudy art-deco font above the doors. In another setting, it’d perhaps be ostentatious, but at the foot of a seven-hundred-foot beast of glass and gilded steel, it seemed almost fitting. She tilted her sunglasses down, getting a better look. The morning sun reflected off the glass tower, making it almost glow gold. She took a deep breath and pushed through the double-doors.

“Good morning, Miss Camilla,” the front desk guard nodded to her. She smiled warmly in response but said nothing.

It was a security company, so of course they paid attention to security – she walked through a metal detector, setting her handbag in a scanner and making her way through the checkpoint to the elevators. It was a process she went through every day – and again, she couldn’t shake the feeling of anxiety. Even the elevator ride was excruciatingly slow. She unfortunately shared the ride with a man named Zola, a wiry man with blonde hair that always made Camilla feel like he was on the verge of stealing her wallet.

He chatted the whole way, making Camilla’s anxious state even worse. By the time she stepped out onto the right floor, she felt ready to burst. She took her sunglasses off and tucked them into her handbag.

She knocked on the door of her father’s office, her knuckles rapping on the thick wooden doors. She stepped back. No response. She knocked again. Again, nothing. She opened the door slowly and poked her head in, cautiously.

“You wanted to see me, Father?”

The man himself gestured her in.

Camilla walked in, bowed, and shut the door behind her. It was a beautiful office, one wall entirely glass, affording a view of the whole city. The other wall was plastered with whiteboards upon which had been scrawled memos, notes, schedules, and plans. At the far end of the room was a bulky desk made of ornately carved exotic wood. Behind the desk, with his hands folded neatly in front of him, sat the man himself.

Garon was a large man, imposing and stern, his white hair slicked back behind his greying skin. He eyed Camilla with disdain as she walked across the office.

“May I sit, sir?” she asked, bowing slightly again. He nodded and gestured to one of the two leather chairs situated in front of his desk. Camilla sat, folding her legs to the side and resting her handbag on her lap. “You wanted to see me?”

“That’s right,” Garon said, his low voice rumbling. “Your…sister is returning today, is she not?”

“That’s right, sir. It’s Valla’s late summer bre-“

“I didn’t ask for details,” Garon held up a hand, silencing her. “When will she arrive?”

“Um…a little before ten, sir. Xander is on his way to pick her up at the train station.”

Garon nodded. “I’ve been…considering your situation,” he said with some degree of gravity.

“My situation, sir?” Camilla asked nervously.

“Your frivolous disregard for your familial duties.”

_Ah. Baseball, he means._

“What about it, sir?”

Garon looked her in the eyes, his gaze dark and impatient. “I have a deal for you.”

“A deal?” Camilla was taken aback.

“The championship game is in three weeks, is it not?”

“That’s right, sir.”

“You want to continue playing baseball, and I would prefer that you did not. That you did not shirk your responsibilities for such childish frivolities.” He was simply stating facts. “You remember the terms of our contract, do you not?”

“Yes, sir. After that game, I am to quit baseball and join Xander in running the company full-time.”

“That’s right. But let it never be said that I am not a kind father. I have a new proposal for you. If you lose the game, you will join your brother here as planned. If you win, however, you may continue to play.”

Camilla raised her eyebrows. Garon unfolded his hands and rested them on his desk, his gaze making Camilla uncomfortable.

“You may continue to play provided you find a suitable replacement for yourself. If you convince your sister to take your place, you are free to do as you please.”

“Corrin?” Camilla asked. Garon nodded.

“Provided her…health concerns prove no obstacle, she has great potential to excel at this company. As of now, I realize she has no inclination of doing so, but perhaps her big sister can be more persuasive than I have been.”

Camilla felt her heart sink. Corrin had no interest in the company whatsoever – in fact, she actively and regularly voiced disdain for the things that Garon did.

“That is your choice,” Garon said with finality. “If you convince your sister to take your place, you may continue to play. If not, our prior arrangement stands.”

Camilla nodded and said nothing. Her mind raced, running through the possibilities laid out before her.

“I’ll send you an email with the updated terms of our contract. That will be all.” He waved her out of the room.

Camilla got up and bowed before slowly walking out of the room. She stopped at the door and turned.

“Ah…Father?”

“Eh?” Garon looked up from his work.

“Do you happen to know a man at this company who goes by the name ‘Iago’?”

Garon frowned. “No, I don’t believe so. What does it matter to you?”

“Just curious,” Camilla smiled politely. Inside, she was seething. Her father denied it, but for a second she saw in his eyes a glint of recognition. He _did_ know who Iago was. The puzzle was slowly piecing itself together. “Thank you for your generous offer, Father,” she said, bowing again.

“I’m a busy man, Camilla.”

“Of course.”

 

-

 

Hinoka waved cheerfully as she spied a head of long blue hair emerge from the train doors. The station was crowded, but even among the bustling travelers and commuters, Azura stuck out like a sore thumb. Between her height and her hair, she was easy to find. She spotted Hinoka’s waving and smiled, winding her way through the crowd, matching luggage in tow.

“Azura! It’s so good to see you!” Hinoka cried, hugging her as soon as she was in range.

“I’m g-glad to see you, big sister!” Sakura smiled, joining in the group hug. Takumi and Ryoma both hung back, Ryoma smiling and Takumi with arms crossed under a neutral face.

“I’m glad to see you guys too,” Azura smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of her golden eyes.

“Azura, wait up!” called out another voice. Out of the crowd burst a disheveled girl with silver hair kept in check by a black headband. She was more sparsely packed, with just a plain black suitcase and a dragon-shaped novelty backpack. She stumbled into Azura and would have fallen had she not been caught. Azura giggled, helping her steady herself.

“Who’s this?” Sakura asked.

“Oh, yeah! Um…” Azura bobbed her head nervously. “Um, this is my…friend, Corrin! We met last semester.”

“Pleased to meet you!” Corrin gave a tooth-achingly sweet curtsy.

“Corrin! Are you there?” a voice called from the crowd.

“Oh, jeez! That’s Xander. I better get going. It was nice to meet you!” Corrin flashed a toothy grin before diving back into the crowd, her silver hair flashing behind her.

“She seems…lively,” Takumi remarked wryly.

Azura laughed and blushed. “Yeah, she’s a little bit scatter-brained.”

“Here, let me take that!” Ryoma said, taking Azura’s luggage from her. “We can talk more in the car!”

Sakura took Azura’s hand and walked with her through the crowded station as the five of them made their way to Ryoma’s car.

Ryoma piled the luggage in the trunk before sliding into the driver’s seat. Takumi opted for the passenger seat, leaving the three girls to fill the bench in the back. Hinoka squeezed in tightly, her long legs almost pressed up against her.

“Takumi, can you move your seat forward?”

Begrudgingly, Takumi assented, giving Hinoka a chance to stretch her legs. Azura, sitting in the middle seat, was glued to her phone.

Hinoka reached over and snatched the phone, turning it off. “Hey, none of that introverted loner business! It’s the first time we’ve seen you since Christmas!”

“That’s not true!” Azura protested. “I came back for spring break, remember?”

As Ryoma drove them to their apartment, they all chatted excitedly, sharing news about life events that had taken place in the intervening time. Takumi talked about his archery, Ryoma about updates at his work, and Sakura constantly interjected with the fun things she and her friends had been doing. Hinoka listened intently to the whole conversation, feeling somewhat guilty that her compulsive personality led her to somewhat neglect paying attention to her family. She had been so caught up in the baseball tournament, then the whirlwind that was Camilla, that she barely knew what her own siblings were doing.

“How are your classes going?” she asked Azura brightly. “You’re still a music major, right?”

Azura nodded. “It’s technically ‘Musical Composition and Performance’ with a minor in music therapy, but yes. My classes are going well. For my performance class, we all had to perform an original composition for our final.”

“That must have been so scary! I can barely talk in front of my classmates, let alone do something like that!” Sakura said.

Azura giggled. “It was fun, actually! I love getting to hear everyone else’s songs.”

“And you’ve always been an expert at making up little songs here and there,” Ryoma remarked. “I’m sure an original song was a breeze for you.”

“Uh-huh,” Azura nodded.

“Oh, and tell us about Corrin! She seemed fun!” Sakura said.

Ryoma made eye contact with Hinoka through the rear-view mirror. She shrugged.

“She and I met at one of those freshmen orientation events. She’s double-majoring in international communication and social work.”

Ryoma whistled. “That’s quite a course load. Do you know what she wants to do?”

Azura nodded. “I think she’s really interested in doing social work abroad. She volunteers a lot around school, and I know she’s been applying to some international programs.”

“That’s a very noble goal,” Hinoka said. She tested the waters. “Do…do you know much about her family?”

Azura shook her head. “No, not really. I’ve met them a few times here and there, but they’re all pretty quiet and serious. Well-dressed, too. She seems so different from all of them.”

“Maybe she was adopted,” Takumi said, rolling down his window leaning his head towards the wind.

Hinoka smacked him. “Don’t say that!”

“What?” Takumi asked. “It’s not like Azura doesn’t know she is. Whose to say her friend isn’t, too?”

Azura smiled. “It’s okay. Takumi is right, actually. Her mother had Corrin from a previous marriage, and then she remarried. So she really isn’t related to her siblings. I don’t even think she’s from around here.”

“You mean the city?”

“The whole country. She looks a bit different – her skin is kind of a different color, and she speaks with a bit of an accent, too.”

Ryoma shrugged. “Maybe that’s why she’s so interested in studying abroad. Visiting her homeland, or something?”

“Maybe,” Azura said, gazing at the front windshield. She was quiet for some time before turning to Hinoka and smiling, almost as if she switched personalities. “You have another game this evening, right? I’d love to go!”

 

-

 

“Here, I got some for you, too!” Sakura thrust a paper bag of fries into the hands of Azura, who immediately spilled several on her lap and across the bleacher seats.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Sakura said frantically, helping Azura clean up the spilled food.

Azura laughed, her voice light and bubbly as she helped Sakura take a seat without spilling anything else. She popped a fry into her mouth.

“Ah!” she said, flapping her hands at her mouth. “Hot! Hot!” She immediately chugged soda from a huge paper cup the two girls were sharing, gasping with relief.

“They’re a little hot,” Sakura said meekly. Azura giggled.

“So where’s Hinoka?” Azura asked, peering out past the chain-link fence and scanning the players assembled on the field. She itched her scalp, her white-and-red borrowed baseball cap mussing her hair.

“She’s in the dugout now,” Sakura explained, blowing on a fry before taking a bite. “The other team is on the field.” She gave Hinoka a look. “You’ve been to games before, right?”

Azura shrugged guiltily. “Yeah, but it’s been such a long time, and I’ve never had much of a mind for sports.”

“Oh, look, there’s Rinkah!” Sakura said, pointing with one hand and excitedly tapping Azura’s shoulder with the other.

“I’m watching, I’m watching!” Azura said. They watched as Rinkah stepped up to the plate, dragging her metal bat through the dirt behind her. She knocked the dirt from her cleats and readied herself into a batter’s stance.

The pitcher hurled a ball down the center line and Rinkah swung. She missed, the bat making an audible _WHOOSH_ as it sliced through the air.

“She doesn’t hit often, but when she does she can really knock it out of the park,” Sakura explained.

True to her words, Rinkah got a second strike before finally connecting with the ball. She sent it flying, a pop-up hit that landed squarely between the center and right-fielders. She took off, sprinting to second before coming to a halt.

“Looks like Setsuna is next!” Sakura said excitedly.

“I never knew you were so into sports.” Azura slurped soda through her straw.

Sakura nodded. “It’s fun! And I know everyone on the team from Hinoka, so I like to see them play!”

“Have you ever thought about playing yourself?” Azura asked.

“No, I could never do that! I’m not very good at sports,” Sakura said. “Hana is really great, and she always thrashes me whenever we play together.”

 Hinoka batted fifth, walking out onto the field with stern determination, her bright red hair sticking out from under her cap. She hit on the very first pitch, only getting to first but sending two of their runners home. Not a bad first inning, all things considered.

The first third of the game passed fairly quickly to Azura and Sakura, who munched on ballpark food and chatted, clapping and cheering whenever Hoshidan players did something exciting. As the players were heading out onto the field at the top of the fourth inning, a figured sidled along the stands, working past the assembled spectators.

“Hey, what’d I miss?” Corrin asked, sitting down next to Azura. Her hair was done up, the mess of long silver hair tied back in a loose ponytail.

“Oh, Corrin! I didn’t realize you were here already! I could have met you!” Azura said, surprised.

“It’s fine,” Corrin waved her off. “It gave me some time to get some hot dogs.”

“Some…meaning more than one?” Azura teased her.

Corrin pouted. “S…six.”

Azura giggled, resting her hand on Corrin’s wrist. “I’m just teasing you.” She turned to Sakura. “Sakura, this is Corrin.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sakura said politely.

“Sorry we didn’t really get to meet at the train station,” Corrin said. “I know my brothers were in a real hurry.”

“How’d you manage to escape the family catch-up?” Azura asked. “If Hinoka didn’t have a game, I think we’d still be trapped talking about stuff.”

Corrin frowned, fishing another hot dog out of a foil wrapper. “I dunno. Everyone seemed really serious, and no one wanted to talk. Even Elise was kinda…grim, almost.” She ate half the hot dog in a single bite. “I asked if it was okay that I hung out with you, and they said sure,” she said through a mouthful of food before snagging a swig of Azura’s soda to wash it down.

Azura nodded.

“I didn’t even _see_ Camilla, which was shocking. I think she might be sick or something.”

That caught Sakura’s attention. “Wait, you know Camilla?”

Corrin nodded. “Yeah, she’s my big sister.”

Sakura frowned.

“Hey, what’s that look for?” Corrin asked, surprised at the hostility.

“She broke Hinoka’s heart. I don’t like her.”

“Wait, _WHAT?!_ ” Azura turned, mouth agape. “What happened?”

Sakura crossed her arms. “Camilla is a big meanie and she made Hinoka mad.”

Azura and Corrin looked at each other then turned back to Sakura. “What are you talking about? Did something happen between them?” Azura asked.

Sakura nodded. “She and Hinoka were dating for a little bit, but then Camilla did something really mean and – hold on a second.” She stood up and shouted. “Go, Hinoka!” She clapped as Hinoka rounded third and dashed for the home plate. She slid into home, narrowly avoiding the outstretched glove of the catcher.

Azura and Corrin looked at each other again. _Dated?_ Azura mouthed. Corrin shrugged, eyes wide.

The commotion from Hinoka scoring another run seemed to have derailed Sakura’s anger, at least for the time being. Neither Azura nor Corrin brought it up again, instead opting to enjoy the time they had together, and the three girls spent the rest of the game talking and laughing, whooping and cheering. Corrin, it turned out, was quite the baseball fan, having learned the rules extensively from Camilla. She was invested, even to the point of shouting at the umpire and rattling the fence when she disagreed with calls, much to Sakura’s embarrassment and Azura’s amusement.

From her position in the dugout, Hinoka watched with confusion at the silver-haired girl shouting on her team’s behalf.

“Do you know her?” asked Oboro, leaning towards Hinoka. “She seems a little…wound up.”

Hinoka shrugged. “I think she’s friends with my sister?”

Scarlet laughed. “Hey, a cheerleader isn’t a bad thing to have.”

Hinoka shot her a look. “It is if her yelling her head off makes the ump angry.”

The rest of the game went quickly, a back-and-forth of runs and strike-outs. It was a tough game – their last before the championships, and the team they were playing – the Kitsune, with big orange foxes emblazoned on their blue uniforms – were tough as hell. They were quick and strong, and the pitcher’s skill almost rivaled Hinoka’s. Hoshido managed to pull it out, though, with the final run being scored by Reina almost barreling into the catcher as she sprinted home. She stumbled on the plate and collapsed.

“Safe!” shouted the umpire, drawing a roar from the crowd. Corrin hooted and hollered, clearly excited at the Hoshidan victory even though she had no real attachment to the team.

“Woohoo! Go Hoshido! Good game!” she cried, clapping wildly. “Yeah, suck it, Kitsune!” Azura had to reach up and tug her back to her seat to stop her from taunting the other team. She grinned at Azura and then turned back to the game, clapping without added commentary.

Hinoka, satisfied with the victory but still hot and dirty, dumped the remnants of her water bottle on her face as she trudged off the field. She wiped her face, tucking her red bangs back into her hat.

“Big sister!” Sakura cried, dashing out of the exiting crowd and leaping to her side. “Good job!”

“Nice game,” Azura said, walking up behind her.

“You really kicked a-“ Corrin stopped, seeing Sakura. “Ahem, uh…good job!”

“Thanks,” Hinoka smiled, taking off her cap and running her hand through her hair. “It was pretty touch-and-go for a while, I gotta say. If Orochi hadn’t hit that triple, we probably wouldn’t have managed to beat them.”

“So you’re going to the finals?” Sakura asked.

“Yep! Championships, here we come!” Hinoka pumped her fist in the air. “If Nohr wins their next game, then it’ll be us versus them.”

“Nohr’s pretty good, though, right?” Corrin asked.

“Yeah,” Hinoka nodded. “We’re going to have to practice extra hard if we want to beat them.” She turned to Corrin. “Do you need a ride home?”

“Um, I…” Azura interrupted. “I was actually hoping she might be able to come over and hang out for a bit?”

 “Oh, of course!” Hinoka smiled. “I’m going out with the girls for drinks, but she’d be more than welcome!”

 

-

 

Hinoka yawned as she walked through the door of the apartment. It was dark and quiet, and her head buzzed with a haze of alcohol. She rubbed her eyes and checked her phone.

_Almost one? Was I really out that late?_ She blinked at the LED screen in the darkness.

She took off her jacket and hung it by the door before walking to the kitchen to get some water. She could navigate the small apartment practically by touch, so even in the dark she managed to get a glass out and fill it with tap water. As she sipped it, she opened the fridge.

The door let out a flood of electric light, bathing the kitchen in a soft blue glow. She blinked, surprised by the sudden brightness, and shut the door again. She heard a sound. _Huh._

She sat down at the table in the dark and drank her water, knowing that if she went to bed without it she would wake up with a wicked hangover. She had been pacing herself pretty well, but then Orochi ordered shots, and then Reina ordered _another_ round of shots, and then it was one in the morning and she felt like the whole world was spinning around her. The walk home had done her some good, though.

She checked her phone again. The top of her contacts list watched her back, the glowing white letters stirring some unnamed feeling within her. _Camilla_. She frowned. The alcohol inside her told her to text her. The bits of her brain that still worked shouted at her not to. She opted for setting the phone down instead. She finished her glass of water and set it in the sink.

As she headed towards the stairs, she heard the sound again. _What?_ She peered into the darkness.

“Hello?” she asked. For a moment, her heart turned to ice. It wasn’t that man again, was it? Did he know where she lived?

A groan emanated from the depths of the living room.

“Hello?” she asked again, taking a cautious step into the dark. She flipped on a lamp.

Corrin lay on the couch, swathed in a blanket, squirming.

“Corrin? What are you doing here?” Hinoka asked. The girl opened her eyes slowly.

“My head hurts,” she mumbled.

“Do you want me to get you some aspirin or something?”

Corrin nodded, sitting up. She wrapped her blanket around herself tightly.

_Huh. Okay._ Hinoka dug through the cabinets in the kitchen and brought Corrin a glass of water and two pills, which she swallowed hungrily.

“Are you okay? What are you doing here?” Hinoka sat next to her on the couch.

Corrin rubbed her temples. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just a headache.”

“Looks like a pretty bad one,” Hinoka remarked.

“Migraines,” Corrin said dismissively. She suddenly froze and looked at Hinoka, eyes wide. “Okay, uh…oh, boy.” She started breathing heavily. “Okay, I’m gonna pass out. Uh…don’t call an ambulance or anything. I’ll be fine.” She swallowed, her chest heaving.

“What?!” Hinoka got to her feet.

Sure enough, Corrin collapsed, falling off the couch and onto the carpet. Hinoka stared, unsure what to do. Nothing sobered her up faster than a crisis, but this was…something else. She dashed up the stairs and opened Sakura’s door.

“Psst! Azura!” she hissed, peering across the room and looking for the girl. She was sleeping on an extra mattress next to Sakura’s bed. Hinoka knelt next to her and shook her gently. “Azura, wake up!”

“Mmnm? What’s…?” Azura blinked sleepily.

“It’s Corrin. Something’s wrong with her.”

Azura got to her feet, shaking sleep from her eyes instantly. “What’s happening?”

Hinoka took her hand and led her out of Sakura’s room, shutting the door quietly behind them. “I don’t know! She said she was going to pass out, then she did!”

Azura nodded. By the time they reached the living room, Corrin was twitching and convulsing, a thin film of foam streaming from her lips. Hinoka stared in horror.

“It’s okay,” Azura assured her. “This happens sometimes. It’s okay. Help me prop her up.” Hinoka laid a hand on Corrin then immediately withdrew it, surprised.

“What’s wrong with her skin?”

“It’s okay. It’s non-communicable,” Azura assured her. “It’s just a skin condition she has.”

Hinoka nodded, fighting her urge to panic and helping Azura prop the girl up on the couch. Her skin felt tough and dry, almost scaly. It was hard to see in the dark, but from the texture it certainly didn’t feel…normal. Hinoka shuddered.

Azura wiped Corrin’s mouth with her sleeve and gently tucked a lock of silver hair behind her ear. She turned back to Hinoka. “It’s okay. I can take care of her. Just go to sleep. We’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'M GONNA FINISH THIS IF IT KILLS ME  
> Also me: Hey let's throw some more characters and subplots in when we're 30,000 words deep
> 
> We're in the home stretch now, though! Only a few chapters left (probably going to end up with around 14-15). I want to finish this before I get to work on some new stuff, so updates are probably going to be pretty frequent in the near future.
> 
>  
> 
> Oh also for clarification in this AU there isn't any of the complex familial connections with like...Garon being married to Azura's mom or Azura and Corrin being cousins or Corrin's mom being the Hoshido mom. Ignore all that canon plot baggage pls


	11. Chapter 11

 

The baseball whipped past her head and hit into the backstop with a loud clatter. Camilla took off her catcher’s mask and dropped it to the ground with a puff of scattered dirt. She turned to the dugout, shaking her head.

“I need a minute. Charlotte, can you step in for me?”

Charlotte looked to Gunter, who nodded sternly. He called a time-out, to which the umpire agreed, letting Camilla and Charlotte swap out. Camilla sat on the bench with a heavy thud and began unbuckling her knee pads.

“What the hell was that?!” Selena snapped, standing over Camilla. “You can’t screw up like that. This is our second to last game. We can’t lose now.”

Camilla nodded and set her pads on the bench. She took a long drink from her water bottle.

Selena grabbed her arm. “What’s happening to you?”

“My sister had an accident last night,” Camilla said, looking up at Selena. “Xander took her to the doctor this morning.”

“Oh, shit,” Selena said. “I…sorry, I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay,” Camilla said, picking at the plastic lid of her water bottle. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind today.”

“Good day for it,” Selena grumbled. “You’re the backbone of this team, Camilla. If you’re off your game, we all are.”

Camilla stared into the dirt, digging the tips of her cleat in and tracing patterns with her foot. “I know. I’m sorry.” She had missed two catches so far, which means two scored runs against them. She had gained a reputation as being an unstoppable wall. But on today, of all days, the wall seemed to be made of holes.

Selena put her hand on Camilla’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m sure she’s okay. Do you want me to ask Gunter if you can call and check up on her?”

Camilla shook her head.

Selena sighed. “Okay. What else is up?”

“What do you mean?” Camilla asked, apparently recovered from her moment of melancholy. She smiled sweetly.

“Come off it, Camilla. We’ve been friends too long for you to think you can fool me. What’s up? It’s your bastard dad again, isn’t it?”

Camilla laughed. “Oh, you really do know me so well. Perhaps _too_ well.” She rested one leg across her knee and began retying her cleats. “Yes, it is my father. As well as my sister. As well as Hinoka.” With this last name, she shot an icy glare at Selena.

“Hey, I already apologized for that!”

“I know you did. But it’s just another mark on a list of concerns for me that is already entirely too long.”

Selena pouted. They watched the remainder of the inning in relative silence, though still doing the obligatory cheering whenever a teammate did something impressive. It was a cool day, windy and cloudy, and despite the summer air Camilla couldn’t help but shiver.

There was just too much going on. Too many moving parts. Garon, Corrin, Hinoka, Iago…the names swirled around in her head. She was first up to bat and walked slowly out to the plate, trying to shake the thoughts from her mind.

She tapped the bat against home plate and tried to ready herself. The first pitch came in straight down the middle. She swung with all her might and immediately regretted the decision. It was a screwball and it moved down as she swung, making her hefty swing miss. She gritted her teeth as the umpire called the first strike.

The second pitch was faster and she managed to clip it, sending the ball spiraling off across the foul line. Second strike, but at least it was a hit.

She decided to wait on the next pitch, and her patience was rewarded. It was a little high and outside, and the umpire called a ball.

Camilla took a deep breath. _Focus, Camilla. Focus._

She swung at the next pitch. Her bat sliced through the air, rotating an almost full one hundred and eighty degrees around her as she failed to connect with anything but empty air. She heard the _thud_ of the ball sinking into the catcher’s mitt.

“Fuck,” she swore, tossing her bat down and slumping heavily back on the bench.

“Language!” scolded Gunter.

She glared at him.

“I realize this is a very high-stress game, but you still must behave in a professional manner,” he said, walking across the dugout towards her. “Language and behavior like that is unacceptable.”

Camilla sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

“We’ll just have to hope the rest of the team can make up for your mistakes,” Gunter said, turning his attention back to the game.

Fortunately, that did seem to be the case. Peri followed up Camilla’s strike-out with a double, then Charlotte followed suit with a single. Flora managed to bring them all home with a low hit that rolled along the ground, narrowly avoiding being scooped up by both the shortstop and the left fielder.

Camilla sighed. Even if it wasn’t a good day for her, at least everyone else was performing up to standards.

She put on her catcher’s gear, prepared to give it another go for the next inning. As she knelt behind home plate, she couldn’t help but scan the crowd. Corrin had intended to come before her little incident, and now the crowd seemed like a tide of unrecognizable faces. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Perhaps the game would go more smoothly than she thought, and she was worried for nothing.

With newly steadied nerves, she did much better, actually catching the balls hurled in her direction. Perhaps she was a bit too heavy-handed in tagging runners with her glove, but at any rate she did well enough. Not the unstoppable force of nature she was known to be, but acceptable for the most part.

Towards the end of the sixth inning she spied a figure in the crowd staring at her. It was a small man with pale skin, his hair long and greasy, his face plastered with a sneer. She adjusted her mask to get a better look, unfortunately causing her to completely miss the pitch coming her way. By the time she scrambled to her senses, the man was gone, the space in the bleachers now empty.

“You need to focus, Camilla!” Gunter shouted to her. She nodded and held a hand up in acknowledgement. By letting the ball pass by her, she let two runners steal bases. She needed to do better than this.

By the end of the game, the sky was darkening and rumbling with a distant thunderstorm. Camilla felt downright miserable. All evening she kept slipping up – little mistakes piled up into big ones, and her inattentiveness turned into frustration. Her teammates assured her it was fine, but she knew that they were frustrated as well. She was unstoppable. This wasn’t supposed to happen to her. She didn’t _have_ bad days.

She tried to ignore it, but on top of her problems was her obsessive tracking of her failures. Twelve missed catches, three runs she let score. She struck out every single time she was at bat, failing to even make it to first base a single time. It snowballed, her failures making her upset and her sour mood making her more prone to mistakes.

It was a miracle they managed to win at all.

“Camilla,” Gunter called after her as she plodded off the field. She sighed.

“Yes, coach?”

“We need to talk.”

Camilla nodded and approached him slowly.

“I realize that you have a lot going on in your home life right now,” he began cautiously. “But this was unacceptable performance.”

“I know,” Camilla agreed. “I can do better. I will do better.”

“You’d better hope so. You’re lucky your teammates managed to make up for your shortcomings today, but don’t think it will happen next time. Hoshido aren’t pushovers. If you mess up, you lose. Do you understand?”

“Yessir,” Camilla said, bowing before even realizing what she was doing.

Gunter frowned at her. “Go get some rest, Camilla. We can talk about it more at practice tomorrow.”

 

-

 

Hinoka hopped off her bike, staring up at the sky. Somewhere behind the clouds it was sunset, but to her the sky was just a single slab of darkening grey. She walked her bike to a bike rack and chained it up before surveying the park. She checked her phone again.

The walking trail was illuminated by a sprinkling of lampposts, which she followed till she arrived at her destination. She peered down at the city from the overlook before turning to see a familiar face.

“You said you found some information about Iago?” she asked Camilla, who was sitting slumped against a tree. The very same tree that she had found Hinoka sitting against what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Camilla shook her head. “I lied. I haven’t learned anything.”

Hinoka sighed. “Okay.” She immediately turned around and began to walk away.

“No, Hinoka, wait-“

“No, listen!” Hinoka whipped around. “I came all the way out here because I was concerned for your safety. If you’re just going to lie to me, I…” her angry glare melted upon seeing Camilla’s trembling face. “Camilla…” she took a cautious step towards her. “What’s wrong?”

Camilla wiped her eyes. “I just…I needed to see you. I’m sorry for lying.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m sorry I…it’s okay. You can go home.”

Hinoka sighed. “Can I sit?”

Camilla nodded and Hinoka sat next to her, leaning back against the tree. “So…what’s up?”

“I can’t…I can’t do anything right, Hinoka,” Camilla stared at her feet. “I screwed up today. I kept fucking up, and we almost lost. And I wasn’t there for Corrin when she needed me, so I fucked that up too. And I fucked up our relationship.” She laid her head on her knees. “I just can’t seem to do anything right.”

Hinoka touched her shoulder gently. “That’s not true, Camilla. You know it isn’t. You’re an incredible player, and I know how much you love your siblings…”

Camilla shook her head. “I’m not even that good. All I can do is hit and catch.” She turned to face Hinoka. “You know those people who are incredibly gifted to start but can’t improve no matter how much they try? That’s me. I’ve always been good at those things, but I can’t get any better. I can’t learn to do anything else, no matter how much I practice. I’m not good, I’m just lucky.”

Hinoka took her hand and rubbed her thumb against Camilla’s knuckles, not entirely sure what to say.

“I _love_ playing baseball,” Camilla continued. “I just…I’m no good at it, and my father doesn’t want me to anyway…so why shouldn’t I just give up?”

“If it’s something you love to do, then I don’t think you should deprive yourself of that,” Hinoka suggested. “It’s worth it to you, even if it doesn’t make other people happy.”

 _What am I saying? If she quits, then we’ll win the championships!_ Somehow the thought seemed in disgustingly poor taste. The kind of victory was no victory at all.

 “It doesn’t matter. I only have one more game anyway, then I’m quitting to work for my father.”

“I thought you hated working for him?”

Camilla grumbled. “What does it matter what I want?”

Hinoka again was silent. She cursed herself, wishing she was better in these sorts of situations. _You’d think taking care of Takumi and Sakura would have made me better at handling emotional crises._ She put an arm around Camilla’s shoulders and squeezed.

Camilla sniffled. “And now Corrin’s home, but I can’t even be happy, since I just feel awful for not being there when she had another episode. And every time I see her I just think about her working for my father and how much she would hate it, and-“

“Shh,” Hinoka pulled her into an embrace. “It’s okay.”

Camilla squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Hinoka.”

“It’s okay,” Hinoka whispered. _Is it okay? I have no idea what she’s even talking about!_

Camilla took a deep breath and spoke again. “I feel like my life is falling apart, Hinoka.”

“What do you mean?”

“My father said that I can keep playing baseball if I convince Corrin to work for him in my place.”

Hinoka thought back to what Azura had told her. _An altruistic social worker working for a private military contractor? That’s a bad combination._ “And you don’t want that to happen.”

Camilla nodded. “I can’t force her to, obviously, but the thought of working there full-time makes me want to throw up.”

Hinoka rested her head against Camilla’s. “I understand.”

Camilla shook her head. “I don’t know if you do, Hinoka. But thank you.” She smiled, wiping her eyes. 

“Have you talked to Xander about it? Maybe he can think of a solution.”

“No. I haven’t told anyone but you.” Camilla exhaled, staring out into the middle distance. She turned to look up into Hinoka’s eyes.

Hinoka stared back at her, at once filled with pity and awe. Seeing a woman who had, for all the time they’d known each other, been entirely in control – seeing this woman genuinely afraid. Hinoka blinked back her own tears.

“I’m sorry,” Camilla muttered. “I shouldn’t have called you out here. You should beMMPH!”

Hinoka kissed her hard, pressing her lips against hers and grasping the back of her head, pressing their faces together. She pulled back, staring at Camilla’s lips.

“Shut up,” Hinoka muttered. “You talk too much.” She kissed her again, wrapping her other hand around Camilla’s waist. Camilla pushed her away from the kiss, blinking back tears.

“N-no,” she said, keeping Hinoka at arm’s length. “You deserve better than me. I’m a liar and a coward and I-“ Hinoka tried kissing her a third time but she was prepared, gently pushing her back.

Hinoka took her hand. “Listen to me, Camilla. You’re…you’re incredible. You’re so amazing and talented and compassionate and you’re just full of love for everyone around you. You’re without a doubt the most wonderful person I’ve ever met.”

Camilla sniffled.

“Are you perfect? No one is. Look at me – I’m a mess half the time, I’m hot-headed and have anger management issues and I probably swear too much, but that doesn’t make me hate myself. You shouldn’t hate yourself just because you can’t reach this unreasonable standard you’ve set.”

Camilla nodded. “I know, but…”

“But nothing!” Hinoka interjected. She was committed at this point. “You’re amazing, Camilla. You excel at everything you do. You’re smart, and you’re beautiful, and you can do anything you put your mind to. And to see you beat yourself up over things that aren’t your fault just…sucks,” she said, running out of steam.

Camilla frowned. “It _is_ my fault, though!”

Hinoka grasped her chin and kissed her again. “Stop it,” she said, pulling back. “Stop saying that.”

Camilla wiped her nose. “If I say it again, will you kiss me again?”

“I’ll kiss you if you _stop_ saying it,” Hinoka smiled, entwining her fingers with Camilla’s. She squeezed. “Come on. Want to get a drink at that bar?”

 

-

 

Hinoka woke up slowly, a pounding headache pulsing behind her forehead. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She rolled onto her back and began to massage her temples.

 _Hungover? Again?_ _I really need to stop doing this_.

She tried to roll over and grasp her phone. Instead her hand met a lump of flesh.

_Wha…?_

She sat up and stared in shock as the white linen sheets fluttered away from her bare top. She looked from her own naked chest to the prone form laying next to her.

_No. No. Absolutely not._

She gathered up the sheets and clasped them to her chest, trying to preserve her modesty for some reason. She knew the room looked vaguely familiar.

Camilla stirred, her face emerging from a mess of wild lavender hair. “Mmm?” she mumbled, rolling over and latching onto Hinoka’s legs, wrapping her arms around her.

Hinoka stared in panic around the room. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she spied a trail of clothing marking out the path from the door to the bed. She gawked at the scene.

Hinoka grabbed Camilla’s bare shoulder and shook her. “Camilla!” she hissed. “Camilla!”

“Mmm…” Camilla smacked her lips. “Just…five more minutes…”

“Camilla!” she hissed, louder this time. “Wake up!”

Camilla rolled onto her back, releasing Hinoka’s legs from her vicelike grip. She reached a hand up from underneath the covers and rubbed her eyes. As she did, the blanket rolled away.

Hinoka covered her eyes with her hands, blushing. _Oh gods. This is not happening. This has to be a dream._

She reached a cautious hand down to the hem of the blanket to tug it up over Camilla’s exposed chest. As she did, she felt her knuckles brush smooth flesh and she almost fainted.

“Mm…” Camilla hummed softly.

Hinoka tried slipping out of bed but was stopped by a sleepy hand that grasped her arm as she escaped.

“You’re warm,” Camilla mumbled.

“Yeah, and you’re asleep,” Hinoka muttered. She slipped out of Camilla’s weak grip, leaving the poor woman sprawled across the bed, snoring. Hinoka quickly began to gather up her clothing to get dressed. _Shit. Shit. This is bad._

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Hinoka froze. She looked from Camilla to the door and back again. There was another knock.

“Camilla?” came a voice.

It felt like an eternity to Hinoka. A third knock rang through the room.

“Are you awake?” Hinoka tried to place the voice. Leo, maybe?

Camilla stirred in the bed. Hinoka held her pile of clothing in front of her, hoping in vain it would cover all of the important bits.

“Hm. Must still be asleep.” Footsteps trailed away from the door and Hinoka exhaled, relieved.

“Going somewhere?” Camilla’s voice came so suddenly that Hinoka jumped, showering herself with the clothing she had worked so hard to gather quietly.

“Ah! Uh! Um…” Hinoka grabbed a throw pillow and held it in front of herself. “Camilla! I-“

Camilla chuckled, sitting up in bed. She leaned against the backboard, the blanket just barely covering enough.

“I…um…” Hinoka stammered, blushing deeply.

“It’s not like it’s nothing I didn’t see last ni-“

“Shut up!” Hinoka stammered, throwing the pillow at her. “Look away! Let me get dressed!”

Camilla laughed and obliged, holding the pillow in front of her face as Hinoka shimmied into her t-shirt and denim shorts. “Of course, dear.”

“O-okay, you can look now,” Hinoka said, embarrassed. Camilla sighed, adjusting the blankets and crossing her legs.

“Well…now what?” Camilla asked. “Are you going to stand in my bedroom forever?”

Hinoka scowled. “What happened last night?”

“Goodness, you must have drank more than I thought,” Camilla thought about it for a minute. “Actually, no, we drank the same amount. You’ve just got a lower tolerance, I guess.” Hinoka glared at her. “I think it was maybe the fifth round of doubles that made you suggest coming back her.”

Hinoka leaned back and groaned. _Why is drunk-me so predictable?_ She scowled again. “And you were sober?! Why didn’t you-“

“No, I was absolutely hammered,” Camilla laughed, her voice sweet and bubbly. “I actually said that I could call you a cab, but you insisted on coming here.”

Hinoka nodded, knowing that it was absolutely consistent with her prior behavior.

“Are you having regrets?” asked Camilla seriously.

“N-no,” Hinoka admitted. “I was just surprised, that’s all. Honestly, I wish I remembered more of it.”

Camilla chuckled and rolled forward, resting on her stomach and propping her head up on her hands. She cocked her head to the side. “We could always do it again, if you’d want.”

Hinoka’s ears burned and she tried not to stare at her bare backside. “I…I think I should go home. I’m sure everyone’s worried about me.”

Camilla smiled. “Suit yourself,” she stood up and Hinoka averted her gaze as she slipped into a silk robe. She tied the sash around her waist. “How about breakfast, at least?”

 

 

They sat together on Camilla’s back patio, sipping orange juice and eating small cream cheese pastries.

“Isn’t…uh…the robe a little revealing to wear outside?” Hinoka asked.

Camilla shrugged, taking a bite of pastry. “It’s my house. Besides, no one lives near enough for it to be a concern.”

“Your _siblings_?!” Hinoka raised her eyebrows.

“Oh, they don’t mind. If you honestly think this is the first time I’ve worn a robe around-“

“Alright, alright,” Hinoka waved her off. “I got it.” She stared across the hills visible from the patio. It was a beautiful morning, warm and breezy, the sky speckled with white wisps.

They sat in silence, neither wanting to break the serenity of the morning. Hinoka felt oddly comfortable. After the initial panic had subsided, she was actually a little bit relieved. Too much tension was bad, and, well…she took a drink of orange juice, letting the thought trail off.

 “So,” she said finally. “What are you going to do about the championship game?”

Camilla frowned and crunched on a bite of crust. “I’m not sure. I suppose I should talk to Xander about it.”

“And Corrin, too, right?”

Camilla nodded.

Hinoka took another pastry. They were delicious, light and buttery. She ate hers in two bites. Camilla giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Let me get that, dear,” Camilla leaned across the table and licked her thumb before running it across Hinoka’s cheek. Hinoka blushed when she realized she had gotten food on her face, and then blushed even more deeply when Camilla licked her thumb again, clearly enjoying herself. “Delicious,” she smiled.

Hinoka felt warm. “Uh…”

Camilla laughed again, her voice soft in the morning breeze. “In all seriousness, though…how about dinner, tonight?”

“Another date?”

Camilla shook her head. “No, business. I’ll have Xander and Corrin come along. We can discuss what we’re going to do.”

Hinoka nodded. “I can see if Azura can come, as well.”

 

-

 

Ryoma dropped off Hinoka and Azura on the street corner that was home to their destination, another lavish restaurant that Hinoka had seen but never even dreamed of patronizing. She tugged nervously at her skirt. “Camilla said they’re already here, so I guess we should go in?”

Azura led the way, her white and gold formal dress fluttering behind her. Hinoka sighed, simultaneously annoyed and proud. Her little sister was truly a sight to behold, but damn if it didn’t make her feel a bit like a sack of potatoes. Her formal-wear barely even fit, just a plain black skirt and a fitted jacket. She followed close behind, trying to ignore the feeling.

Unlike the last restaurant, this was a ground-floor one, an elegant dining hall with a high arched ceiling. According to the advertisements, it was once a cathedral, and the architecture showed this. It was a gorgeous building.

Corrin waved them over to their booth, almost standing up to her full height and flapping her arms wildly. Hinoka breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how much she didn’t fit in with high-class society, she’d never be _that_ bad.

“Over here!” Corrin cried. Azura slid into the booth next to her, smiling as the girl began excitedly showing her all the paper cranes she had been folding out of napkins and straw wrappers.

Hinoka smiled at Camilla and sat down across from her. Camilla was seated on the other side of Corrin, listening patiently and nodding as she explained how _this_ one was a sandhill crane and _this_ one was a white-naped crane and _that_ one was a black crowned crane. Hinoka, admittedly, couldn’t tell the difference, and she suspected Camilla couldn’t either.

Xander was poring over the wine menu.

“Ooh, I’ll have a gin,” Corrin said, peering at the cocktail menu.

“No, you won’t,” Camilla snatched it from her hands. “You’re having a root beer.” Corrin pouted, then immediately went back to folding napkins and chatting with Azura.

“So, shall we order?” Xander said, his low voice cutting through the chatter. Camilla helpfully suggested a few choices to Hinoka and convinced a begrudging Corrin to order something other than just chicken tenders from the children’s menu. She pouted again.

Hinoka noted that Camilla not only made Corrin’s choices, but also ordered for her rather than letting the girl order for herself.

“Now, onto business,” Xander said, folding his hands on the table after the waitress took their menus. “Camilla has explained the situation to me, but perhaps you could enlighten the rest of the group.”

Camilla nodded. “Father has offered me a deal. If Nohr loses the championship game, I am to cease playing baseball and instead take a position with Xander at his company. For those of you who don’t know,” she said, looking at Hinoka and Azura, “I already work there part-time but have neglected to take on a full-time position. This would change that. However, if Nohr wins the championship game, I am allowed to continue to play baseball provided I find a suitable replacement for myself at the company.” She took a deep breath. “Father specifically said he means you, Corrin. If you take my place at the company, I’ll be allowed to continue to play.”

“Okay,” said Corrin, ceasing blowing bubbles into her root beer.

Camilla and Azura both reacted instantly.

“What? Are you serious?” Azura asked.

“I don’t think you understand,” Camilla said. Corrin was back to blowing bubbles in her soda.

“No,” she said, stopping again. “I understand. I can do it.”

“No,” Azura protested. “You can’t!”

Corrin nodded. “It’s the only solution. Camilla doesn’t want to stop playing baseball, so if I take her place she can keep playing. Problem solved.”

“Are you serious?!” Azura glared at her. “You know what you’re talking about doing, right? You know what your father’s company has done!”

Corrin stirred the ice in her drink, mind obviously churning behind her bright red eyes. She nodded. “I know.”

“Then how can you want to work for him?! It’s monstrous!”

Xander cleared his throat.

“Oh, sorry, Xander,” said Azura. Then she corrected herself. “Sorry you work for a bloodthirsty murder-for-hire sociopathic component of the military industrial complex, I mean.”

Hinoka chuckled at that. Apparently college hadn’t changed her _that_ much.

Corrin shrugged. “I know. I can do what you guys do. Work there but mostly just try and mitigate harm. They’re gonna do bad stuff regardless, so it makes sense to have someone stop it internally rather than try and fight it, right?”

“I can’t believe you!” Azura raised her voice, almost shouting until Hinoka shushed her. “I can’t believe you!” she hissed again. “After everything you’ve said about him, you’re just going to roll over and work for him?”

Camilla shook her head. “I don’t want you to do it, Corrin. This is a terrible line of work, and I would never wish this on anyone, least of all you.”

“What about Xander?” Corrin asked. “He does it, right? That doesn’t make him a bad person, does it?”

Xander stared at her. “I do as much as I can, Corrin, but you must know that the things I do are unpleasant. Even if I don’t do them outright, my word carries much weight in the world. I cannot pretend that I do not do wicked things.”

Corrin frowned. It was a heartbreaking expression, one that made Hinoka feel like her heart was melting.

“At any rate, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to throw the game,” Camilla said. “I refuse to let this happen knowing I could have prevented it. Corrin, you have your own life to live, and I can’t let you throw it away working for Father.”

“Like hell you are!” Hinoka protested. “You can’t just give up on your dreams, either! Look, I’ll throw the game – maybe if you win, you can keep playing and working part-time?”

Camilla shook her head. “I can’t let you do that, Hinoka. There’s not even a guarantee he would allow it, and if nothing else it would make him force Corrin or I into working for him. I have to do this.”

“How can you say that?” Hinoka asked. “Telling Corrin she can’t throw away her dreams, but then you’re doing the exact same thing!” She put a hand on Camilla’s forearm. “What about what you were talking about last night? About how it makes you sick to think about working there any longer!”

Camilla nodded. “If that’s a sacrifice I must make to keep Corrin from this life, then it’s one that I have to make. And it’s _my_ decision.”

“That’s stupid,” Corrin said. “I’m an adult. I can make that decision for myself, and I don’t want you to make that sacrifice for me.” She brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

Camilla shook her head sadly. “I…I can’t let you do that. I already have experience, and I know how Father is. It would work better with me anyway.”

“Hey, um…” Hinoka interrupted them. “What exactly…what exactly does Garon do that’s so awful? Camilla never explained it to me.”

The conversation paused as the waitress served their dinners. Hinoka opted for a creamy blackened-shrimp pasta, a choice she was immediately delighted with and began to dig into as soon as she got it. She noted that Corrin had in fact not ordered the chicken tenders, but at Camilla’s behest got a thick sirloin steak. Ever-ignorant of manners, she immediately started by hacking at the steak with her fork. Azura, who had opted for a simple salad, leaned over and helped her cut it with a proper knife.

“It’s a military contractor,” she explained as she cut. “They take on contracts from the military that they don’t want to fill, or that they can’t. Which essentially means they do all the jobs even the army doesn’t want to touch.”

“Like what?” Hinoka asked, stirring her pasta.

“Sending out soldiers to defend oil companies that displace indigenous people,” Azura suggested. “Or handing out military-grade equipment and weapons to unstable regions. Or training militias controlled by dictators. Or defending companies that steal water from impoverished regions to bottle it up and sell it overseas. Or-“

“Enough,” Xander held up his hand. “It’s true that we have a reputation for some of our operations being…distasteful.”

“All of them,” scoffed Azura, earning an elbow in the ribs from Hinoka.

“It’s not all we do,” Xander continued. “We rent out security convoys to diplomats and bodyguards to celebrities. We offer weapons training courses and certification for surveying equipment and intelligence systems. We provide cybersecurity to firms that operate internationally. It’s not all bad.”

Camilla nodded. “Only some of the jobs are bad. I can just take the simpler jobs.”

“Which would defeat the point of trying to alleviate harm!” Corrin interrupted. “If you want to stop real damage from being done, that means you have to oversee the really nasty stuff! The stuff that makes you miserable!”

Hinoka chewed a bite of food and swallowed. “Is that what Xander does?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Unfortunately, most of the examples Azura listed are closer in line with the sort of things I oversee. Camilla has been taking the simpler contracts, as she only works part-time. Changing to full-time would mean she would likely have to take on more jobs like those.”

Azura angrily chewed her salad. Hinoka touched her wrist and she swallowed. “I just can’t believe Corrin would want to do something like that.”

“I don’t,” Corrin said simply. “But I don’t want Camilla to suffer.”

Azura sighed. “You’re talking in circles, Corrin! You can’t always sacrifice yourself for other people.”

Xander took a sip of wine. “The way I see it,” he began, “is that neither Corrin nor Camilla want the other to work for Father. You both could both force the other into the position, or take it yourself without requiring any consent from the other party. It looks like we have a bit of a prisoner’s dilemma on our hands.”

Corrin grumbled incoherently, chewing on her steak.

“Hinoka, you wouldn’t really throw the game for me, would you?” Camilla asked her.

Hinoka shrugged. “I…I don’t know. I have a responsibility to my teammates, but it’s just a stupid game. There’s always next year, too. I can’t believe _you’re_ suggested forfeiting!”

“It’s something I can do to save Corrin from my fate. The only thing I can do.”

Even despite her determined tone, Hinoka could detect a hint of sadness behind her voice. It was resignation to a life of misery and toil. She shook her head. “There has to be another solution. There _has_ to be.”

By the time the waitress had come to clear their plates, they were no closer to a solution. Xander had scribbled out plans and calculations on six napkins and made three phone calls, and Camilla had sent five emails from her phone. Azura refused to budge, not allowing Corrin even the merest suggestion of working for Garon. Hinoka and Camilla both continued to offer to throw the game. They ordered a round of dessert. Then coffee. Then drinks – with more sodas for Corrin and Azura. Even as the restaurant began to empty out and the servers began to clear tables, they found themselves no closer to a solution. Finally, as a server approached their table to ask them politely to leave, Corrin leaned across the table.

“Guys!” She looked tired, that peculiar combination of sugar crash and late-night adrenaline making her red eyes wide and twitchy. She held out a napkin on which she had scribbled out a network of flow-chart choices.

“I have an idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, I sure hope they have a plan to get out of this conundrum! 
> 
> *wringing hands, sweating profusely*
> 
> Good thing I'm a writer who totally planned out the conclusion of this story ahead of time!
> 
> *loosens collar*
> 
> Oh yeah, I guess a bunch of other stuff happened in this chapter, huh? We're well on our way to the end at this point!

**Author's Note:**

> Wow have I had fun writing this one. I have a few more chapters that need editing before posting them as well, so look forward to some more very soon! I hope you enjoyed reading it!
> 
> P.S. I'm sure I'm not the biggest baseball expert by any stretch of the imagination, so let me know if there are any egregious errors. (I know technically the batters wear helmets, but helmets are for units with low defense stats)


End file.
